More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A young woman has spoken of the horror of waking to find her home on fire.
Deni Kerswell, 20, woke to the desperate cries of her cousin calling her name and then yelling fire.
Video: Deni Kerswell tells of how she woke to find her home was on fire
The two women fled the chalet on the Isle of Sheppey in just their night dresses and with seconds to spare before it turned into a raging inferno.
All that remains is now a charred burned-out shell. Everything inside like beds, settee, washing machine, microwave, clothing, mobile phones and personal items was destroyed in the early morning blaze.
Deni, now sleeping on a friend's sofa, is seeking a new home.
She said: "Everything we had was destroyed. I got out wearing just a T-shirt, dressing gown and knickers. I didn't even have time to get my shoes. It all happened so quick."
The drama began at 5am on Tuesday when Deni heard her cousin Rosie Mae Clements, who had been staying with her, getting ready to go to Mid Kent College in Medway where she is on a beauty course.
Deni recalled: "I could hear her getting ready but as I started to nod off again I heard her yelling 'Deni, Deni, Deni.' I thought she might have found a dead animal. Then she screamed 'Fire'.
"I opened the door and could just see thick black smoke. I didn't know whether to run to the front door or try to get out of my bedroom window. In the end I made a dash for the door.
"Rosie had escaped through her window and then ran back inside to save Black Jack the rabbit. Then within seconds the chalet had gone. It just turned into a fireball. Clumps of ceiling were dropping down and then all of a sudden the roof caved in."
She said neighbours and relatives were soon there to wrap the shocked women in blankets. Three fire crews spent two hours tackling the blaze which Deni believes started in a faulty storage heater.
She had lived in the chalet for just over a year with her younger sister Sienna, 14, who had recently moved out. Deni said: "If Rosie hadn't been there it could have ended so much differently."
The single-storey chalet is part of the Sheppey Beach Villa complex in Nutts Avenue, Leysdown and is owned by Deni's grandmother. At the height of the blaze smoke could be seen for miles billowing across the sea.
Deni says she has been offered emergency accommodation by Swale council but it is in Medway or Folkestone and away from her support network. She is trying to get a one-bedroom flat on the Island.
A Go Fund Me page set by Melissa Pritchard to replace some of the lost property has raised £735. Deni also shared the home with three cats Lucifer, Dexter and Peaches. All escaped the fire but Peaches is still missing. The other cats and rabbit are being cared for by a family friend.
To offer a home to Deni email timesguardian@thekmgroup.co.uk
