Support for Safety Bay family after blaze

More than $3000 has been raised for the family of a 13-year-old boy with special needs, whose home went up in flames just weeks before his birthday.

On Friday, August 7, at about 9:30pm Kohl Hunter and his mother Faloam’s rental house in Safety Bay caught fire.

Kohl, his mother, their dog and rabbit escaped unharmed, but they lost all of their possessions. What wasn’t burnt was destroyed by water or smoke.

An electrical fault is believed to have caused the blaze.

Kohl’s grandmother, Carol Hunter-Lange, said her daughter and grandson were left with almost nothing but the clothes on their backs.

“A firewoman managed to grab a small travel bag, the size you would take on a plane, and shoved a couple of Kohl’s clothes and his teddy bear in and that’s it,” she said.

“Everything they owned was gone ... they literally only had what they were wearing.

“A stranger took him (Kohl) overnight and my daughter slept in a friend’s car in the driveway of her house. I had a teenager asleep in bed so I couldn’t leave ... I came and got them the next day.”

Ms Hunter-Lange said her daughter did not know the house was on fire until the very last minute.

“The house was on fire but she did not know until she opened the door to come out of the bathroom. That caused a backdraught and caused the smoke alarm to go off and tripped the electricity,” she said. “So she opened the front door to check the fuse and saw the neighbours running towards her...they could see the flames and came to help.”

Kolh and his mum are now staying with Ms Hunter-Lange at her Ellenbrook home. Ms Hunter-Lange has launched a GoFundMe page to help her daughter and grandson rebuild their life.

“This fundraiser is to help Kohl, and his mother get back on their feet and to wish Kohl a very happy 13th birthday,” she said.