Community rally round couple after fire nightmare
A crowd-funding initiative has been set up to support a young Harris family who have lost their home in a fire during the recent storm.
Ironically, Stewart Maclean is himself a retained fire-fighter who had been called out to deal with another incident, before returning home to find his own property in the village of Rodel destroyed.
No-one else was at home as his pregnant wife Karen and daughter Isla had de-camped to nearby Strond.
Stewart’s cousin, Rebecca Hutton, has set up the crowd-funding appeal. As of today (Friday), the total stood at £49,567.
She said: “All of Harris had a power cut. Luckily Stewart's pregnant wife Karen and their daughter Isla had decamped to Strond, where they had a chalet with a wood burner and a gas hob for the night.
“Stewart got called out to attend a fire in Seilebost. On his way back, the power had come back on. He decided he'd go back to their home to Rodel and have a shower rather than disturbing everyone back in Strond.
“As he was nearing the house, he saw that it was on fire. He couldn't get a mobile signal in Rodel. He had to go back to Leverburgh fire station.
“Luckily, because they all just came back from a shift, all the boys were available and ready to go again. They went down and did what they could there, but they've lost everything.”
The loss of the Macleans’ family home and belongings would be devastating enough, but the situation has been exacerbated by their insurers refusal to recognise their right to claim.
Rebecca explained the heartbreaking situation the Macleans find themselves in.
“The insurance company has refused to pay out because the policy had lapsed by just 50 hours,” she said. “Stewart had been working long days away in England for the previous five weeks and, understandably, struggled to keep on top of emails whilst focused on work.
“He fully intended to renew on Monday 26th October (well within the 14-day window), but the insurance company has said that the property must be in the same condition as on the day the renewal call is made.”
Rebecca set up the go fund me with a target of £65,000 before the insurance situation came to light. The Macleans have been overwhelmed by people’s generosity so far with 75% of the target already reached.
Rebecca fears without an insurance payout it will not be nearly enough to replace what the young family have lost
“When I set up to GoFundMe, I didn't know about the insurance at that time,” she said. “Obviously, they've got Isla, who's three and Karen's expecting in January, so it's not ideal.
“I kind of set it up thinking they can replace what they need right now and it would help with rent and if they had to find somewhere else just now.
“It was brilliant because the amount of money that went in so quickly. I was thinking, this is this is going to be really good for them. Then when you hear about the insurance it’s not even going to touch the sides. The whole house has been gutted.”
(See “Help Stewart, Karen and Isla after their tragic house fire” on crowdfunder platform.)