A YOUNG couple are this week awaiting word from Wexford Co. Council if they will be given temporary housing after their mobile home burned recently to the ground.
The blaze, which occurred at Battlestown, Ramsgrange, completely destroyed the home of James and Tess Furlong. Luckily, neither they nor their four children were in the mobile when the fire broke out.
When The Echo visited them at the site of the inferno the couple said an electrical fault is believed to have been the cause of the fire.
“I had left here and at around 5.30 p.m. I got a call from my father that there was a fire,” said Mr. Furlong.
“By the time we got back the entire thing was up [in flames],” he added.
“We tried putting water on it but it was no use.”
Two units of the Fire Service attended the scene and though the fire crews ensured the safety of the site – which is to the rear of Mr. Furlong’s family home – the mobile was completely destroyed.
The couple have been on the Wexford Co. Council housing list for over 11 years and they said officials in the local authority indicated to them that they might be able to avail of temporary housing, however, they were also told ‘not to get their hopes up’.
“We’ve been renting for a number of years now and that’s hard on the children because it means moving from different schools,” said Mrs. Furlong.
“The cost of renting was getting to high and we wanted stability for the kids in school so we decided to buy a mobile and move in here to James’ home place,” she added.
The couple only bought the mobile home four months ago and unfortunately lost all of their possessions in the fire.
“All we have now is the clothes on our back,” said Mr. Furlong.
The couple acknowledged the huge swell of support they received from within their local community in the wake of the blaze.
“People have been absolutely brilliant,” they said.
“They’ve given us clothes and provisions and just the fact that people want to help is great.”
Mrs. Furlong’s sister lives in Arklow and they also received support from people in the Co. Wicklow town.
“It’s been brilliant how people have tried to help,” she said.
