Single mum battling terminal illness loses everything in house fire
A single mother-of-three battling a terminal illness was delivered another blow when her family lost everything in a unit fire in Melbourne’s south eastern suburbs.
Nadia Burns-McKay and her children have been left with only the clothes on their back and their pet dog after escaping a fire that gutted their Clayton South unit within minutes.
Residents watched on as firefighters battled to protect nearby properties.
The woman, who is battling a terminal lung disease and doesn’t know how long she has to live, fears for her children’s future.
“I think losing everything and all my Nan’s stuff and the photos is just irreplaceable,” Ms Burns-McKay told 7 News.
She said the unit wasn’t insured, and described feeling “helpless” and “hopeless”.
The family thinks the blaze started in a bedroom where one of the children was playing with a lighter.
Remarkably, they all escaped, despite not having working smoke detectors.
“I didn’t smell it, I don’t think we would have had a chance to get out of the house,” Ms Burns-McKay said.
“Not only did they have to contend with the fire but we did identify asbestos,” The Metropolitan Fire Brigade’s Trudy Walker said.
Nadia’s Mother Susan Mahomet said the family’ future looked “very bleak” following the fire.
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