A woman has described the “terrifying” moment she realised her home was on fire after what she claims was a petrol bomb attack in broad daylight.
The Pontypridd resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said she has “lost everything” following the blaze at her home in Glyncoch on Monday, June 1.
Recalling the ordeal she said she had been preparing for a doctor’s appointment when she noticed something unusual outside her bedroom window.
“It was around 9am on Monday morning and I got up early because I had a doctor’s appointment at 10 o’clock,” she said. “I was in the bedroom getting ready to have a shower when I looked out of the window and saw two boys pointing a phone towards my house.
“I started to think: ‘What’s going on there?’ Then all of a sudden my smoke alarm went off.” Get the latest Ponty news first by signing up to our newsletter here.
She immediately went downstairs to investigate but was confronted by thick black smoke and rapidly-spreading flames.
“As I opened my living room door there was thick black smoke,” she said.
“The whole room was on fire. The flames were so high they caught my curtains and blinds.
“I just grabbed my dog and ran. I ran outside with nothing but a pair of pyjamas on. I had no shoes, nothing. It was tipping down with rain and it was horrendous. I just stood there and watched my house. I’d lost everything.”
According to the woman the fire spread through the property within minutes, destroying cherished possessions and irreplaceable memories.
“I’d never seen a petrol fire before,” she said. “The curtains and blinds went up within minutes and it spread right across the room.
“My computer chair, my computer, pictures of my husband who had passed away, pictures of my dog who had died – everything was gone.
“Then it spread to the kitchen. The kitchen ceiling fell down and everything on the worktops was burned.
“It was devastating. I’d lived there for 45 years and nothing could be saved.”
Emergency services were called to the scene at approximately 9.20am. Crews from Pontypridd and Abercynon Fire Stations attended the property and extinguished the blaze using breathing apparatus, hose reel jets, thermal imaging equipment, and positive pressure ventilation.
A spokesman for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said they were working alongside police as part of an ongoing investigation into the incident.
The woman said the shock of the fire left much of the immediate aftermath a blur. “The police, fire brigade, and paramedics all came, but to be honest I can’t even remember much of what was happening at the time,” she said.
As flames engulfed her home neighbours quickly came to her aid. She added: “All of my neighbours came out and were offering me cups of tea but I didn’t want anything. I didn’t know what I was doing.”
In the days that followed she claims CCTV footage gathered by investigators showed a person entering her garden carrying what appeared to be a petrol bomb.
“The police went looking through people’s cameras and it showed a boy running down my garden with a petrol bomb and putting it through my top window,” she said.
“I always open my windows every morning, straight into my living room.”
More than a week on no arrests have been made and the woman is still struggling to process what happened.
“It’s horrendous. It’s been a week and I still can’t get over it.
“If I’d gone to the doctor when I was supposed to my dog would have died. The police asked me what time I normally get up. I told them I’m usually up around half past six but since my other dog died in January after 17 years I’ve often stayed in bed later because I was devastated.
“They told me that if I hadn’t got up when I did this would have been a murder inquiry.”
The incident comes after years of personal tragedy for the woman who said she has endured multiple family bereavements in the recent past.
“I suffer with my mental health because of everything I’ve been through. In the last four years I’ve lost my husband, my two brothers, my sister, my nephew, and my niece.
“My nerves are bad and now this has happened. I’ve never been so scared in all my life.”
The fire occurred just hours after another property, located two streets away in Porcher Avenue, was targeted in a separate suspected arson attack. Police have not confirmed whether the two incidents are linked with investigations ongoing.
A spokesman for South Wales Police said: “South Wales Police is investigating an attempted arson following a brick being thrown at a window at address on Porcher Avenue, Glyncoch, on Monday, June 1.
“We were also called to Pearson Crescent in Glyncoch at 9.20am on Monday, June 1, to reports of a small fire.
“No-one was injured at either address and extensive inquiries are ongoing.
“Anyone who witnessed this incident or who has CCTV/dashcam footage or any footage they believe to be relevant should contact us and quote reference 2600171004.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to support the woman as she works to rebuild her life and you can donate here.
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