Berwick dad tries to rebuild after devastating house fire and losing his dogs
A Berwick dad is trying to rebuild his life after his house was destroyed and his dogs were lost in a devastating fire.
In the early hours of February 17, Chris Howe was woken by his ten-year-old son Dylan after a fire broke out in his bedroom.
The fire is believed to have been caused by the family’s pet rat who chewed through an electrical wire. High on adrenaline, Chris made sure Dylan and his dad were out of the house safely before running back in to try and save his two beloved dogs.
Unfortunately, the dogs didn’t make it and the family have now lost almost everything they owned.
Chris said: “My son woke me up saying there was flames in his room so obviously I jumped up and as soon as I looked in I saw it was in the bottom of the rat cage and his room was already engulfed with smoke.
“I got my dad and my son out the house and then I wanted to try and save my dogs so I ran into the burning building. I got in and opened their cage and was calling out to them but it was too late.
“I keep telling my son he is the real hero.”
Because Chris was in the house for so long and inhaled so much smoke, he was then rushed to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle where he was put into an induced coma.
"I have asthma anyway but it made it ten times worse,” he added. “In the hospital I could barely walk 100 yards without getting out of breath.
“But, the mental side of it is worse for me. Dogs become part of the family and you can't replace them. They have been taken away from me which is hard to come to terms with. I can’t stop living in the world of ‘what ifs’.”
Chris and his son are currently staying with a family member while they try and clear the house and figure out the cost of the damage.
One of Chris’ friends has now set up a GoFundMe to help raise some money to help with the costs and replace some of what the family has lost.
So far, £1845 has been raised and donations can be made here.