Fundraiser for 94-year-old woman whose flat was damaged by fire reaches nearly £7,000

A 94-year-old woman has been in hospital for a week with carbon monoxide poisoning and heat burns to her throat after a fire broke out in her flat.

Firefighters were called to the ground floor flat on Penwith Road in Earlsfield on November 23 by neighbours who heard a fire alarm and saw smoke coming from the letterbox.

The woman who is known as ‘Bubbles’ was rescued by firefighters and taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

The community has raised almost £7000 to repair the damage caused by the fire, which has made the flat uninhabitable.

Natalie Rickman, Bubbles’ granddaughter, said: “My nanny is so special to us and, as we have recently found out from her neighbours, also really special to members of her community.

“This year has been an awful one for many, nanny especially. In August she spent 6 weeks in hospital with a torn gallbladder, twisted bowel and pneumonia and had only recently started to ‘feel like herself again’, so this has been a major blow to her and it would be amazing to show her she has lots of support and that people really do care about her.

“Nanny won’t be going back to that flat until we can make sure there is no trace of the fire as it would just break her heart, having lived there for over 70 years!”

To donate to Bubbles fundraising campaign click here.