Update: May 23, 2pm
An East Maitland woman whose family lost their home in a fire this week has thanked the community for its generosity.
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Jullianne Mulligan safely escaped the blaze with her five children – aged between five and 15 – in the early hours of Monday morning.
Her husband, Mick, was away from the home at work at the time.
The family lost everything in the fire, which started in the kitchen of the rented house on Brunswick Street.
Since news of the blaze broke, the family has received several approaches from generous community members with donations of clothes and other essentials for the family.
Mrs Mulligan said she wanted to thanks the community for its kindness.
Any donations can be left at 178 Brunswick Street, East Maitland.
Family escapes burning home: May 22, 10am
A mother and her five children have been left with nothing but the clothes on their back after a fire gutted their home in East Maitland in the early hours of Monday.
Julianne Mulligan said she rushed her kids – aged between five and 15 – out of the Brunswick Street rental after a blaze started in the kitchen at about 1am.
The family escaped safely, but the inside of the house was destroyed.
“It only took about 15 minutes before a [gas fuelled] explosion,” Ms Mulligan said.
“I got the kids straight out – I didn’t even pick up my wallet.
“They’ve got nothing, just what they’ve got on.
“I don’t even have shoes on, I just grabbed the kids – I didn’t even think of anything else.”
Fire and Rescue crews from Maitland, East Maitland and Morpeth arrived on scene to find the fire had reached the roof of the property.
It took fire fighters about 90 minutes to douse the flames. Fire and Rescue is investigating a possible faulty piece of electrical equipment as the cause of the fire.
Nick Bielby
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has been with the Newcastle Herald since 2017.
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has been with the Newcastle Herald since 2017.
Jessica Brown
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
