A schoolboy almost burnt down his family home and completely destroyed the kitchen when he lit a firework.
Jess Smith was with her daughters upstairs at their home in Cefn Mawr in Wrexham, Wales, when her eight-year-old son went into the kitchen, picked up a cigarette lighter and lit a firework which had been stored ready for a party.
The mother-of-three said ‘all hell broke loose’ as explosions went off, rockets tore through the ceiling and a blaze ripped through the property.
Jess Smith’s eight-year-old son lit a firework which completely gutted the kitchen and sent explosions through their home
Jess Smith (pictured) and her children had a lucky escape as the fire ripped through their home in Cefn Mawr in Wrexham, Wales
Firefighters were called to the scene at 8.21am today, and Ms Smith said it was a ‘miracle’ her son wasn’t seriously injured.
Ms Smith said her little boy had gone to the kitchen to put his school shoes on when he picked up the lighter.
‘I was sorting my daughters out upstairs, doing their hair, when all hell broke loose,’ she said.
‘We had three boxes of fireworks ready for a firework party this coming weekend.
‘I know we shouldn’t have stored them in the kitchen, but we were in a rush to go to the cinema on Sunday and just left them in the kitchen.
‘We have a firework party every year, and we always put them in the shed.’
Ms Smith said that, when the fireworks started going off, she had no idea whether her son was still in the kitchen or not.
‘He was screaming, but luckily he escaped through the front door,’ she said.
‘I saw a flash of his blue school jumper and knew he’d escaped.
‘There were explosions going off. The rockets came through the ceiling into the bathroom.
Firefighters were called to the scene at 8.21am today, and Ms Smith said it was a ‘miracle’ her son wasn’t seriously injured
The home has suffered bad smoke damage throughout, after fireworks tore through the ceiling
‘The kitchen is ruined, as is the bathroom, and there is smoke damage throughout.
‘We’ve been told by the council we won’t be able to live in the house for six months at least, so are having to live with my mother-in-law until then.’
Ms Smith said the children were left traumatised by the event and her son felt ‘terrible’ about it.
‘A fireman told me it’s a miracle that he’s not badly injured or worse,’ she said.
‘We may have lost all our things and not have a house to live in but, at the end of the day, it’s nothing as our children are OK.
‘The rest is just bricks and mortar.
‘I’d just like to thank the fire crews, who were amazing. They managed to calm my little boy down and did everything to try and save our things.
‘It only took a minute for the firework to go off and completely destroy the kitchen.
‘People on social media are saying we are bad parents, but we are good parents that did something without thinking.
‘I’m never buying fireworks again.’