A MOREE family devastated by a fire will start from scratch after losing their home, valuables as well as vital rescue equipment for horses.
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Tianna Milovanovic, who runs the North West Equine Rescue Service, has been fighting back tears as she tries to comprehend what she’s lost after the fierce fire ripped through her 85-year-old grandmother’s Iris St home on Wednesday.
Ms Milovanovic and her partner lost her wedding rings and all of their possessions, along with the possessions of their three-year-old son, her 56-year-old father and her grandmother.
Already, friends, locals and complete strangers are rallying to help the local family who do so much for their beloved equine friends.
Strewn through the charred remains are priceless family heirlooms, decades of photos as well as 40-odd years of collectables that can’t be replaced.
“You never realise what you have until you have lost it all,” Ms Milovanovic told The Leader yesterday.
“We lost everything, everything we own.”
The ferocious fire is believed to have been sparked by an electrical fault in one of the bedrooms that spread in no time, engulfing the house and everything inside.
“Dad only just got false teeth, it took seven years to get them and they’re not even salvageable,” Ms Milovanovic said.
Ms Milovanovic and her partner were preparing to attend a funeral in Tamworth when the fire erupted and they rushed back home, but nothing could prepare them for what they would be faced with.
“You never wish this on anybody,” she said, adding that her young son was struggling to comprehend what had unfolded.
“I do the horse rescue, all the financials, all the computers, the equissage machine, a massage machine for a horse worth $20,00 and it was all in there.
“Everything is volunteer-based – we draw no wages, we don’t benefit financially from anything.
“Nothing could be salvaged. Even the car keys have melted.”
Everything is in the hands of insurance assessors, but much of the rescue equipment won’t be covered.
The Econo Lodge has offered the Milovanovics rooms for the short-term, but little things, such as toothbrushes, hair brushes and clothing, are gone.
But it was a stranger who dropped off a small package for the little boy that sparked tears from the family.
“She dropped off a box with DVDs, a box of nappies and underpants to us,” Ms Milovanovic said.
“Holding back the tears from someone so generous was really hard.”
An appeal has been launched for donations to the family and the North West Equine Rescue to cover the bare essentials and help to get the family back on their feet again.
To donate, head to the organisation’s Facebook page.