Mother’s home destroyed by fire, losing cherished mementos of late daughter

Tricia Hayes, 64, recounted witnessing her residence engulfed in flames, containing cherished mementos of her deceased daughter. She described the experience of seeing her ideal home consumed by fire as “unbearable.” Among the possessions destroyed in the inferno were her daughter Steff’s artistic creations, school notebooks, poems, and a lock of her hair. Tricia shared with BBC Scotland news, “She had beautiful dark brown hair, which was long, sleek and thick.” She added, “When she was little and had her hair cut I kept a lock of her hair.” Tricia further expressed, “It’s a nightmare to have lost Steff and losing this lock of hair, which was part of her, has been devastating.” Steff Wright, aged 43, passed away in December 2022. Tricia, residing in Tranent, East Lothian, characterized her daughter as very outgoing with a wonderful laugh. While some of Steff’s garments were salvaged from the fire, all her school artwork, including models constructed from toilet roll tubes, was obliterated. Additionally, Tricia mourned the loss of poems Steff had composed during her childhood. She recalled, “She was always a very individual little girl. She had these little boots and she used to go to school in them every day.” Tricia explained, “The teacher had been telling her to take them off and she didn’t want to, so she wrote a poem about it.” She continued, “I’ve been trying to remember it because that was destroyed in the fire. I just remember the last line it said ‘I won’t take them off any day’.” Tricia, a native of an area close to Manchester, relocated to East Lothian due to her other daughter, Stacey Hayes, residing in nearby Edinburgh. Approximately one year prior, she purchased the three-bedroom wooden property in Tranent for £170,000. She stated, “It was my dream house and I had just decorated it as I was planning to have lodgers living with me.” The conflagration commenced on Saturday, November 23. Tricia was asleep, oblivious to her home being ablaze, until a neighbor who observed the flames alerted her. The woman, whose residence is situated opposite, hurried across the street in her dressing gown and knocked on the door to gain Tricia’s notice. Tricia recounted, “When I opened the door she was shouting: ‘Come out, come out’.” She added, “She only had slippers on and it was snowy and icy.” Tricia continued, “I didn’t know what was happening and then I was running across the street in my pyjamas in my bare feet through the snow.” She concluded, “Then I stood in her kitchen with the shock and the terror of seeing my house burn. I was bawling my eyes out.” Tricia characterized her neighbor as a hero. She speculates that an electrical fault in her kitchen might have caused the fire, as that was the location where her neighbor first observed the flames. Since the fire, Tricia has been residing with a friend. Subsequently, she learned she lacked insurance coverage, having made an error during her policy renewal. Reconstructing the house is estimated to cost £80,000. Stacey, aged 42, established a fundraising page for her mother, expressing profound distress regarding the fire. She remarked, “When I worry about what it’s going to cost to replace her house, I think how glad I am that my mum is okay.” Stacey continued, “She was so happy in that house, she had finally found somewhere she felt really comfortable. She had finally found peace of mind and security in a place she wanted to be.” She concluded, “Then to literally see it go up in smoke in front of her just after finally thinking things were looking a bit better for the family is very devastating.” For individuals impacted by the themes presented in this narrative, assistance and support are accessible through the BBC Action Line. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available.