A care home in Sunderland that was gutted in a devastating fire has reopened after 20 months - and has even welcomed back some old faces.
More than 30 residents of the Croft Care Home, in Sunderland, were evacuated by carers and firefighters in June 2020 after an accidental fire broke out in the roof.
Forty-three firefighters from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service were dispatched to the care home on Ettrick Grove and managed to distinguish the blaze.
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Six people were taken to hospital although thankfully no-one was seriously injured thanks to the home's heroic carers.
And now after 20 months, the care home finally reopened in February and has been kitted out with brand-new furniture as they begin to welcome residents back.
Manager Kathryn Hudson said she was "over the moon" to be back and said staff were delighted after long-term resident Eddie Jacob, aged 79, was one of the three original residents to return to the home.
She said: "It's been 20 months since the fire so it's been a long time. We were completely devastated when it happened.
"On that day, 33 residents lost their homes, it was terrible. Three of those residents have returned to the home which is really positive.
"Eddie was one of our first residents back and he's just over the moon. It was quite emotional to see him back at the home.
"Everybody is really happy to get the home back up and running."
Despite keeping the building's "homely" feel, Kathryn said the care home is essentially brand-new.
She said: "We're only a small home with a very minimal turnover of staff and we pride ourselves on being a very welcoming home. It's always had a very homely feel and that's what residents loved.
"The footprint of the home remains the same as it did before the fire but now we just have a brand-new home.
"To be able to carry out a refurbishment like this would have been quite difficult but now we've got brand new furniture and an interactive tablet for our residents to use which has just been great."
Kathryn has also thanked the local community who rallied around the care home after the devastating fire with a fundraising page raising thousands of pounds.
People were also collecting clothes and other items for the home through Facebook groups in the area.
She added: "The Go Fund Me page raised thousands of pounds which was just amazing and we can't thank the community enough for all the support and donations.
"We all can't believe we were a part of it and that we witnessed such a terrible thing. We're just glad to be back and glad to be looking after people again."
