A MOTHER whose kitchen went up in smoke within minutes is urging others to take safety precautions.

Victoria Hooper, who lives in Liskeard, had gone out to do groceries when she received frantic calls that her house was on fire.

Her teenage nieces had been the ones to dial 999 when they walked past and saw smoke.

Victoria, who has five children aged between three and 12, was scared that her two elder boys may have returned home from playing at the astroturf and been hurt, but calls to other mothers confirmed that they were safe.

By the time Victoria raced home, fire crew had extinguished the flames and sprayed everything down. She watched as an officer carried out her two turtles in his hands.

Thankfully the family’s eight cats and their dog were also unscathed.

The fire, which the 30-year-old says started in a faulty washing machine, had left everything in the kitchen destroyed and part of the rear of the house unusable.

It was thanks to the kitchen door being firmly shut that the fire did not spread any further into the house.

“I’d popped to the shop and literally within the space of 20 minutes I was getting calls from friends to say Vick your house is on fire.

“I did get really emotional. Your home that you just left was all fine, and then you come back to find the kitchen is completely gone. But it could have been so, so much worse.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw my little white dog strutting out the house completely fine, he didn’t even have any black marks on him.”

Victoria and the children stayed with relatives for a short while and she took a week off work so that she and the children’s father could strip out the blackened kitchen.

As a single working mother, she says she has just about been able to pay the mortgage and bills and that she didn’t have house and contents insurance, a choice she now regrets.

Victoria is a recovery worker at With You, who support people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. After a difficult time mentally and financially last year, she says she had built herself back up with a new job and was in a more stable position.

“I had Hallowe’en outfits and pumpkins ready for the kids. Their uniforms were all in the kitchen. It all adds up. This has been a set back but somehow you have to put yourself aside for your kids.”

With a two-hob stove and a kettle, Victoria is trying to make the makeshift cooking and bathing arrangements at home feel like camping for the youngsters.

“People have been so kind. The support has been amazing, people that I wouldn’t have expected have helped.”

One local person has donated plasterboards, which Victoria says has made a huge difference, as having the clean, white boards up has made everyone feel better.

A Go Fund Me page set up by Victoria’s cousin Abi had raised £1,200 at the time of writing and can be found at www.gofundme.com by searching for Abi Yung.

Victoria says the fire has given her new perspectives on what is important.

“The what ifs don’t bear thinking about. Like what if I had put that washing on at night time, and had the panic of getting the five kids out the house.

“It’s made me reevaluate everything. I think everybody to a certain extent takes their house for granted. I’m thinking about thinks like PAT testing now. I would say to people – never think that house and contents insurance is too much to afford – it’s one of the most vital things to have.

“And massively – shut your doors. Shutting the door stopped the fire from spreading. Also switch appliances off at night. Loads of times I’ve put the tumble dryer on before going to bed, thinking I’ll get the kids’ uniforms dry for school in the morning. I’ll manage my time differently now.

“And it’s taught me not to be afraid to ask for help,” she continues. “I was so worried I wouldn't be eating Christmas dinner at home with my family this year. However, thanks to everyone's donations I will be. I'm forever grateful and so is my family.”

A spokesperson for Liskeard Community Fire Station said that at present they could not say for absolute certain exactly how the fire started but that the kitchen door being closed “definitely stopped the spread of the fire”.

“It was our retained fire crew that attended the incident. A couple of days later, the wholetime crew did what we call a hot strike, which means they carry out fire safety checks in the properties around the affected house to make sure all those occupiers are safe.”