A devastating gas bottle fire leaves Briton homeless in Albox (Almeria)

A devastating gas bottle fire leaves Briton homeless in Albox (Almeria)

AFTERMATH: Pat Kenny’s porch after gas explosions Photo credit: Pat Kenny

PAT KENNY is at present living in a tent in the garden of his rented villa in La Hortuella in Albox.

The house is blackened and uninhabitable after gas bottles stored in the shade ignited while Pat was having his lunch on June 14.

“I heard a loud hissing sound coming from somewhere outside but thought nothing of it,” Pat told the Euro Weekly News.

“That became a roar, so I went to the window, looked out, saw nothing and sat down again.

“But suddenly it became an extremely loud roar so I went to the door and the wall to the left of the porch was on fire,” Pat said.

“Flames were shooting up the wall where gas bottles were stored on the porch.”

A cannister inside a portable gas heater inside the front door eventually caught fire, too.

Pat rang 112 and the fire brigade were soon able to control and extinguish the blaze, which also destroyed the house’s electrical installation.

That was more than a month ago while Pat – who is retired – continues to live in a tent accompanied by his two dogs and surrounded by what he could salvage from the devastated villa.

“What I don’t understand is why Repsol, the gas suppliers, haven’t yet carried out an inspection,” he told us. “After all, they must bear the responsibility.”

Meanwhile Pat feels that he is being treated as a criminal, with no help or assistance at all from the landlord who, as far as he can make out, has no insurance.

He told us that around July 7, the owner visited the villa with a workman. “He was talking about leaving everything white – painted, I assume.  But I could swear I heard him say ‘We’ll send the bill to Pat’.”

He has no social media pages, but a friend who does has started a GoFundMe campaign https://www.gofundme.com/f/uzxsy9-can-you-help?qid=44b6d5f7cb514b574826b300825c0dcb

in a bid to raise funds that will help Pat get back on his feet – and inside a house – again.

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Written by

Linda Hall

Originally from the UK, Linda is based in Valenca and is a reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering local news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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