By Rowan Forster
A Pakenham family has lost everything during a ferocious house fire in the Hunter Valley, leaving a father with blistering, third degree burns.
Rebecca and Damien Knaap, who called Pakenham home for more than three decades, narrowly escaped with their lives after their uninsured Rutherford property was gutted by flames on Thursday afternoon.
The couple – who have two children, Hayley, 5 and Declan, 2 – are now desperate for community support.
Their furniture, appliances, family photo albums, Damien’s costly work tools and Hayley and Declan’s cherished children’s toys were all destroyed by the inferno.
Despite suffering third degree burns, Mr Knaap created a GoFundMe to try and recoup some of his family’s shocking losses.
“I’m sad to ask but I have no choice because our home, with all our children’s’ clothes and toys, has been destroyed,” he said.
“My wife and I need all the help we can get.
“Even clothes will help for the kids – we have nothing.”
According to family friend Sharon Sempel, Mr Knaap grew up in Pakenham – working at Autobarn – before enlisting in the defence force several years ago.
Through the army, he was required to relocate.
Mr Knaap was eventually discharged due to injury.
Damien’s dad Paul Knaap, who still lives in Pakenham, said it has been a devastating ordeal for the family.
“The next two to three weeks he’s just going to be having skin graft after skin graft,” Paul Knaap said.
“He’s quite burnt.
“What didn’t get destroyed by the fire or the heat got destroyed by the toxic smoke.”
The distressed father intends to fly up to Newcastle to be with his son once he receives a doctor’s diagnosis.
“Damien has lived in Pakenham his whole life and I’ve been here for about 50 years,” he added.
“He was previously injured in the army, so he was doing up motorbikes and selling them – that’s how he was surviving.
“He’s lost all of his tools and now everything is gone.”
NSW Fire and Rescue said seven crews were called to the property at about 2.30pm to extinguish the blaze.
Four LPG gas cylinders were reportedly being stored in the garage, which, when the fire spread, exploded.
The garage collapsed, with the fire continuing to spread through the house.
It took firefighters about an hour to bring under control.
While the cause of the blaze is unknown, investigators are not treating it as suspicious.
In the 15 hours since the GoFundMe page was launched, the community has raised more than $1000 for the family.
Donations can be made online at: https://bit.ly/2AhOiKp
