A mother whose five-year-old daughter died in a horrific house fire has described her loss as “nothing short of devastating”.
Alysia Salisbury became trapped in her sister’s bedroom after the blaze broke out at the family home in Pembrokeshire, which eventually destroyed all of their possessions.
Their local community however has rallied together and over the last few weeks, over £20,000 has been raised through a GoFundMe to help the family find a new home.
Speaking to The Independent, Tara Salisbury described her daughter as “the most fun-loving, free, adventurous little girl” who had idolised her older sisters.
Her mother Tara Salisbury described her as the ‘most fun loving’ girl— (Family handout)
Known affectionately as Lysi, her daughter had spent the evening of 27 May playing before deciding to have a sleepover in her sister Abi’s bedroom.
“I initially did not realise there was a fire in the house, until it was too late,” Ms Salisbury said. “The alarm went off at around 9pm after Abi went downstairs to warm Lysi some brioche in the oven.
“This was not unusual - it was an incredibly sensitive alarm and went off often when the oven was turned on. I ran downstairs to turn it off but by the time I realised that it wasn’t turning off and the oven wasn’t even on yet it was already too late.
“In the space of about 2 minutes the bedroom was already engulfed and no matter how desperately we tried we just couldn’t get in through the flames to reach my poor Lysi trapped inside.”
The fire quickly ripped through the property in Pontyglasier, causing catastrophic damage with the majority of the family’s possessions lost to the blaze.
“It’s hard to say we’ve found any positivity after the horrific events of that evening, finding light in anything after finding yourself homeless after losing your child like that is really hard,” she said. “I would say though that the fantastic response from everyone who has rallied around us to help in our time of need has been an incredible sight.”
The family lost all of their belongings in the deadly blaze— (Family handout)
Known as “the girl with bare feet”, Lysi’s mother said she loved nothing more than running around in the mud and rain, and would always charge in the sea fully clothed with “the biggest smile on her face”.
As a child with autism, she had felt an “affinity” with animals and would often show affection by kissing her mother on the leg. “These little moments meant the world to us, as we knew this was her way of telling us how much she loved us, how much she cared. It was spontaneous, uninstigated and true,” she said.
With the money raised, Ms Salisbury hopes their loved ones can commemorate her life at a funeral on July 22, while they continue their search for a new property.
“As far as her loss affecting us, it’s nothing short of devastating. She was around us 24/7 and we all loved every single second of it - her sisters adored her and I feel as though my very core is now missing. She brought light into my world, it’s now so much darker without that beautiful little smile to light it.”
