A family with 10 children was left homeless after their house in the "Ustovo" neighborhood of Smolyan burned down in a fire a few days ago. Only the stone walls remained of the building, while the roof, the beams between the two floors and the joinery were completely destroyed. The family lives in two vans provided by the Smolyan municipality, BNT reported.
Atanaska and Nikolay are already clearing the burnt beams. The family wants to rebuild the house and return to it, but for now they have limited conditions in the temporary housing. According to Atanaska, there is no electricity or water in the vans, and Nikolay Marinov describes them as uncomfortable and damaged.
„From materials to rebuild my house. If there are good people to come and help, let's get together for a month, at least lift it, and we'll do it a little bit inside“, says Nikolay Marinov.He says that the fire started at night when he turned on the stove to warm the house. His wife took the children out, and Marinov tried to put out the fire. He was gassed and passed out. After a signal was given to 112, the flames destroyed the house in about an hour.
Some time ago, the family used municipal housing. The mayor of Smolyan, Nikolay Melemov, stated that after complaints from residents of the block, the municipality provided the family with two vans, which are at its disposal.
“So we have been helping them so far“, says Melemov.From the “Social Assistance“ Directorate have provided the family with food and suitable clothing. The family will also receive a one-time grant of 1,171 euros. Five of the children attend the Yuri Gagarin Primary School in Smolyan, and after school they participate in activities at the Center for Working with Street Children. However, they refuse to sleep there.
The family continues to look for building materials and people to help restore the roof and ceilings so that they can return to their house before winter. The fire department reminds us to use heating appliances carefully and not to leave flammable objects near them.