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Wedding couple’s blaze heartbreak
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| DEVASTATION: Wedding couple Mark McQuillan and Amanda Capstick survey the damage to their home after the blaze |
A COUPLE who lost their wedding outfits in a blaze have vowed not to let the fire stop them getting married in August.
The fire at Amanda Capstick and fiancee Mark Mcquillan's four bedroomed house in Townfield Avenue, Burnley, destroyed all their belongings.
Mark, 38, said the couple planned to marry on August 8 in Cliviger despite the £200,000 house being destroyed along with their outfits, the bridesmaid dresses, stationery and other wedding items.
Loss assessors are looking at the house, which has been gutted, and will cost up to £300,000 to repair, and repairs will take six months, added the father of two.
Two pumps battled the blaze, which is believed to have been started by an electrical fault, at 4.30am on Thursday.
The fire had engulfed the whole house by the time Mark arrived at 6.30am.
The couple, who have a 10 month-old-son called Rudi together, were staying at Mark's parents house when the fire started.
The engineer, who works at ELE Advanced Technology, in Colne, said: "When I was driving up through Worsthorne I saw the flames and realised how big the fire was.
"I was devastated.
"We have nothing left and have lost everything
"I just keep thinking what might have happened if we had been in there - someone was looking out for us.
"We will not let the fire stop us getting married as planned. If we can survive this, we can survive anything."
Fire ravaged the downstairs of the property and smoke destroyed the upstairs, which included an extension being built onto the garage.
The extension was being built to accommodate Mark's daughter Holly, five, from a previous relationship.
The couple, who live with Amanda's two sons from a previous marriage, Eli, nine, and Jonah, 12, will be staying with Mark's parents for a few weeks before moving into rented accommodation.
Amanda, a teaching assistant at a primary school in Barrowford, said she would start looking into replacing the destroyed wedding items.
Amanda, who had her 35th birthday the day after the fire, said: "I am taking each day as it comes.
"It's the pictures I am devastated about, there is no way they can be replaced."
10:01pm Friday 28th March 2008
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CommentPosted by: sarah wright, burnley on 1:49pm Sun 30 Mar 08
I am Amanda's sister and very disappointed with the write up of this report, as a lot of the facts are incorrect.For example: Amanda has not been married before. They are staying with Amanda's parents. Mark arrived to see smoke not flames and it was some time before 6.30 when he arrived as reported. I arrived at the scene at 5am when the fire service had finished putting out the fire and Mark and Amanda had been there fore some time at that point. The extension was in progress to create a further bedrom for their son Rudi. The newspaper report also states that "going away" outfits were inthe fire. There is no such thing, it was all of the wedding outfits, suits, waistcoats, cravats etc. It is very disappointing to read about such a tragedy where members of my family may not have escaped from if they had been there, that has been reported so incorrectly when the reporter has been informed of the facts in a one on one interview!
I am Amanda's sister and very disappointed with the write up of this report, as a lot of the facts are incorrect.For example: Amanda has not been married before. They are staying with Amanda's parents. Mark arrived to see smoke not flames and it was some time before 6.30 when he arrived as reported. I arrived at the scene at 5am when the fire service had finished putting out the fire and Mark and Amanda had been there fore some time at that point. The extension was in progress to create a further bedrom for their son Rudi. The newspaper report also states that "going away" outfits were inthe fire. There is no such thing, it was all of the wedding outfits, suits, waistcoats, cravats etc. It is very disappointing to read about such a tragedy where members of my family may not have escaped from if they had been there, that has been reported so incorrectly when the reporter has been informed of the facts in a one on one interview!
Posted by: the pest, burnley on 8:11pm Sat 12 Apr 08
were not interseted in goldfishs name/size of flames etc
were not interseted in goldfishs name/size of flames etc
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