Generous donations for hero dad who saved his children from burning house

The whole town of Haaren in Noord-Brabant is going to great lengths to donate things to the father who saved his children from a burning house on Friday evening. “From clothes to toys, things are getting turbulent,” says Kitty Brekelmans, a coordinator at the local children’s center. The family is doing fine, except for some scorched hairs and a broken ankle on the Dad’s side. He jumped from the attic as soon as he discovered the fire, reports local newspaper BD.

“We had to reject the furniture and cots for a while, there is no room for that yet, but everyone wants to do something,” says Brekelmans. She collects clothes and toys for the family. Her father Sjef set up a donation campaign, which mainly collects small donations, but even so, the counter is well past 6000 euros in barely a day.

“What a hero”, is what the village says. “Everyone’s worst nightmare,” said Sjef. The fire broke out on Friday evening. The crackling of the fire could be heard via the baby monitor.

The father, who had to jump from the attic through the stairwell to the first floor with his child, broke his ankle. Flames exploded from the roof of the detached house, and a lot of smoke engulfed the building.

Still a drama

It is nice that everyone came out reasonably healthy, but it remains a drama, it sounds. Especially since the father - himself a volunteer firefighter - is a self-employed person. That’s why they started the fundraising campaigns. There is now plenty of clothing and toys. Financial support is still welcome.

The cause of the fire is still unknown. A wood stove may have played a role in the drama. The family had a wood-burning stove on, and the hot pipe is said to have caused the fire due to “radiation” in the attic.