A mother has lost everything in a devastating house fire just two days after she finished renovating ahead of her partner and his children moving in. 

Jorjah Beagley, 33, from Blackwater, Hampshire, had only been at home for 20 minutes after watching boyfriend Shane White run a half-marathon when the blaze began. 

The teaching assistant told the Daily Mail: ‘One of the kids went up to [my partner] and said, “Why is there smoke coming out of the cupboard?”‘

She ran into the kitchen with her Mr White, 41, who was still in his running shorts, to look at the cabinet, which contained the fuse box and gas meter. 

‘I opened the door and this fire just literally went, “Whoosh!” in my face,’ she said. 

They quickly fled, with their son Oliver, eight, and Mr White’s children, Jack, 15, and Josh, 12, while her children Dillain, 15, and Finley, 12, were at their father’s house.

The family all made it out safely – but heartbreakingly, their cat Blondie died, despite Ms Beagley’s heroic attempts to save her and her 10-week-old kitten. 

‘I’ve gone running in there, grabbed the cats, run out the house, and unfortunately, mum cat had run back in because she thought her kitten was inside,’ she said. 

Jorjah Beagley (with her partner Shane White), 33, from Blackwater, Hampshire, had only been at home for 20 minutes after watching him run a half-marathon when the blaze began. Pictured: L-R Children Jack, Josh, Oliver, Finley and Dillain

The teaching assistant told the Daily Mail: ‘One of the kids went up to [my partner] and said, “Why is there smoke coming out of the cupboard?”‘. Pictured: The house on fire 

The fire service is still investigating the exact cause – but it is currently thought the fuse box was at fault, with the explosion caused by the gas meter next to it. Pictured: The emergency response to the blaze

‘The second I came out with the cats, behind me, all I heard was an explosion in the cupboard. So I just ran.’  

The fire service is still investigating the exact cause – but it is currently thought the fuse box was at fault, with the explosion caused by the gas meter next to it.  

Tragically, Ms Beagley had also only just finished £4,000 of renovations on the house, ready for Mr White and his children to move in after their wedding in September. 

His sister-in-law, Kim White, has set up a GoFundMe page to help the family get back on their feet. 

‘Two days before, I had just put the paint rollers away, put them in the loft,’ Ms Beagley said.  

‘I’m a young mum and I had my first child when I was 18 so we’ve been through the struggles. 

‘And I’d worked hard for the last 15 years to get myself to a point where I could buy myself a new sofa or whatever…

‘I had literally just finished decorating and preparing, for it all just to go away. 

‘And so now I feel like I’ve gone back 15 years, where I’m a struggling mum with nothing who has just moved out. And I’ve got to start from scratch.’ 

But she emphasised: ‘The material things that we can replace is not what’s most valuable to us. 

‘It’s the kids’ belongings, their Christmas presents, the sentimental things like pictures, baby items, memories that are irreplaceable – that is the most devastating.’ 

The family lost everything in the fire, leaving only with the clothes on their backs – which, for Ms Beagley, in the chaos, did not even include shoes and a coat.

‘I had just got to a point where I thought, “I can buy my own furniture. If I want a new TV, I can buy a TV. If I want to redo my bathroom, I can redo my bathroom”,’ she said.

‘And now, I’m thinking, “God, it’s the whole 15 years all over again”. That’s the bit for me. It’s like going back in time.’ 

She continued: ‘My little one is waking up in the night, shouting out random objects he remembers are in his room. 

‘His favourite teddy was in the house and although the firemen brought it out for me and bagged it up, they said, “You can’t have it, it’s just so contaminated”. 

The family (pictured) lost everything in the fire, leaving only with the clothes on their backs – which, for Ms Beagley, in the chaos, did not even include shoes and a coat

They all made it out safely – but heartbreakingly, their cat Blondie (pictured, with her kittens) died, despite Ms Beagley’s heroic attempts to save her and her ten-week-old kitten

‘Even though it wasn’t burnt, it’s just so contaminated with smoke and soot that it just wouldn’t be safe to have, even if we washed it a million times.’  

The couple have also now postponed their wedding until next year, to free up money to replace their possessions, in the absence of contents insurance.

Ms Beagley explained: ‘My little one has already said, “I want my bedroom to be exactly the same colour, and I want exactly the same furniture, and I want all my books back, and I want to put them on my bookcases in exactly the same order they were in before”.

‘So, the obvious thing to do is push the wedding back. It doesn’t matter when I get married. I just want my boys to have their safe space back.’ 

Instead of their redecorated home, Ms Beagley and Mr White are living in a hotel room with their son, with her two children in the room next door. 

‘It is tricky being on top of each other but as I keep saying to them, we only have each other now. We need to get along. We need to stick together and be a team,’ she said. 

They will stay there for a few months, paid for by the housing association they rent from, before moving to a temporary house for half a year or so. 

In the meantime, the association will restore their home, with family and friends helping look after the family’s kitten, two remaining cats and dog in the meantime. 

The blaze also came just hours after Mr White ran a half-marathon for charity in Wokingham, which he had prepared for months for.

The customer service manager for a cleaning company raised hundreds for Camp Mohawk, a local day centre for children with special needs and their families. 

‘It was all just, “Yay, isn’t this amazing? Look at you, well done!” And then all of a sudden, the house is burning down. Just from one extreme to the other,’ she said. 

But luckily, along with his family and his wallet, Mr White’s hard-won marathon medal was one of the only things he was able to save from the blaze. 

Ms Beagley concluded: ‘You never think this is going to happen to you. It’s something you always see on the news or you watch it on EastEnders. 

‘You think, “Oh God, how bad for those people but it’s never going to happen to me”. 

‘Even now, people say, “How are you just getting on and just acting normal?” And I think it’s almost like I’m watching it from a bird’s eye view. 

‘I can see myself in the situation but I’m watching it from afar. It still doesn’t feel real. It doesn’t feel like I’m the one going through it.’ 

And she was brought nearly to tears by the generosity of others who have helped them recover, giving clothes and books and organising church donation boxes. 

‘Everyone’s struggling for money now and they’re giving their money to me – it’s just so heartwarming and so overwhelming and I feel like I need to spread my thanks for that,’ she said. 

A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said: ‘Crews from Winchester and Rushmoor, supported by Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, were called at 1:20pm on Sunday, February 22, to reports of a house fire in Hearsey Garden, Blackwater.

‘On arrival, crews discovered a fire in the kitchen area of the property. Firefighters extinguished the blaze using two hose reel jets and a covering jet. 

‘Ventilation fans were deployed to clear smoke from the premises.

‘Gas and electricity supplies were isolated to ensure the property was made safe.

‘Crews carried out a home fire safety visit with the occupants before they returned to their stations at 4:30pm.

‘An electrical fault is believed to have caused the fire.’