Community rallies together after woman and two children taken to hospital following kitchen fire in Taverham

A community is rallying around to offer support to a woman and her two young children after they were taken to hospital following a kitchen fire.

Three fire crews from Earlham, Sprowston and Carrow were called to the house in St Edmunds Rise, Taverham, opposite the playing field behind Taverham Junior School, just after 4pm on yesterday (Saturday).

The woman and two children, both believed to be aged under two, were in the house at the time the fire broke out and were taken to hospital following the blaze.

They were later discharged.

Now members of the Facebook group, Thorpe Marriott (Drayton & Taverham) Community page, are pulling together to support the family.

Offers of items such as blankets for the children and extra things the family may have lost in the fire have been received.

Members of the group - some of whom have experienced house fires themselves - have expressed their sympathy,

Katie Holt, the administrator for the group, said: 'I hope lots of the residents find [the Facebook page] helpful.

'I've already had a few people send me messages saying they would be happy to offer any help to the family.

'We all wish her and her children well. I know the clean up after a fire is huge'

One local person who posted on the group said: 'It is just unbelievable how you can lose so much in such a short space of time. At the end of the day what you own can be replaced but lives can't.

'My heart goes out to the family as I also know how traumatic it can be. But at least they are ok. Good friends and neighbours are a blessing.'

Another posted: 'This Facebook site shows that there are plenty of caring and compassionate people in our own small community.'

Friends of the woman said they were not yet ready to talk.

The fire crews wore breathing apparatus as they put out the fire and used a thermal imaging camera to check for hot spots plus a fan to ventilate the house.