Geraldton house fire: Mother who lost it all in Rangeway blaze on New Year’s Day speaks of her terror

After two Geraldton mothers lost their home in a fire, they have thanked the Geraldton community for their support amid dealing with the aftermath. Ella Conder, who was in her bedroom in Rangeway when the fire started on the morning of New Year’s Eve, said she was currently sleeping on a friend’s couch in the wake of the traumatising event. “Another person who was staying with me, he came running in. He’s just like, ‘We need to get out, the house is on fire’ “Come out and the house was just full of smoke. It all happened too quick,” she said. Ms Conder was initially unable to locate her two children, aged two and three, in the house. “All I could think was my kids, my kids are dead . . . then I seen them alive outside,” she said. None of the three adults and two children in the house were injured in the blaze. “The fireys got here so quick. They did such an amazing job, and they made sure we were alright,” Ms Conder said. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services were unable to determine the cause of the fire. WA Police confirmed the fire did not appear to have been deliberately lit and they were not investigating. In a social media post, Temily Prunster, who was also home on the morning of the fire, said she had lost everything. “We got out with nothing but the clothes on our backs, nothing is really salvageable. Our kids no longer have anything, we have nowhere to go.” Ms Conder said she had limited family support in Geraldton and didn’t know what her future looked like. She is attempting to set up a GoFundMe page to cover costs of new possessions. “We can’t thank the community enough,” said Ms Prunster, after her social media call-out was met with offers of donations.