“We’ve lost everything”: Pevensey Bay couple open up about being saved from a house fire by their dog

Bob Trinder was woken in the early hours of May 4 when his husky dog Miya started nudging him. He took her through into the kitchen to let her out and that’s when he saw the flames.

He said, “There was a horrendous wall of fire coming over the garage.”

Bob said he woke his wife Val and ‘in the time it had taken to get dressed, the place was engulfed’.

“It was like a blowtorch. You couldn’t see your hand in front of you.”

Fire crews arrived at 3.11am, but Bob and Val said they knew at this point that they’d lost everything.

Bob said, “It’s terrifying how fast it can spread because of the wind. All we had left was what we were standing in.”

The fire started in a neighbouring garden shed and due to high winds, spread Bob and Val’s garage and house, fire crews said.

The fire took nearly three hours for crews to get under control, Bob said.

He said, “We’d like to thank all the fire crews, they were fantastic.”

Bob and Val are now staying at their daughter’s house until they will be moved into temporary accommodation.

They said it should take between nine months and a year to get moved back into their home.

In light of what’s happened, Bob said they’re both ‘very emotional and shaky’.

He said, “We just keep thinking everything has gone. We’ve lost everything. We just keep bursting into tears, but the main thing is we all got out.”

Bob said Miya has been given the all-clear by the vet, but she is ‘very stressed’.

He said, “She won’t let us out of her sight.”

Since the fire, the community has come together to support the couple by setting up a fundraising page, collecting donations, and circulating leaflets.

Bod said, “Our community has been absolutely fantastic. We’re overwhelmed with the response. It’s unbelievable what everyone’s doing.”

To support the funding page, go to: https://gofund.me/c6276a4e

Fire spreads from garden shed in Pevensey Bay