Joe SkirkowskiWest of England
FacebookTributes have been pouring in for a “warm and caring” mother and her two young children who were killed in a house fire on Boxing Day.
Seven-year-old Eve, four-year-old Ohner, and their mother, Fionnghuala Shearman died after a fire engulfed their home on Brimscombe Hill in Stroud. Tom Shearman escaped the burning house and tried multiple times to re-enter to save his family.
Since the tragedy, a sanctuary has been opened to allow people to mourn together, and a bonfire event has been cancelled out of respect.
Resident Sarah Jones said: “She was absolutely delightful. She was warm, caring and a loving person.”
Members of a community restaurant have cut their Christmas break short to open as a sanctuary for people to meet and for the emergency services to be given homemade refreshments.
Tom Herbert, founder of The Long Table at Brimscombe Mill, said: “We want them to know that they’re in our hearts and in our prayers and we’re just open for people who don’t know what to do with those feelings.”
Ms Shearman, also known as Nu, was a fashion designer and tributes have been pouring in from the knitting community.
Glasgow-based arts and crafts shop For the Love of Yarn described Nu as “a bubbly special creative whose product we all know and love”.
“Nu was the brilliant mind and creative force behind Hide & Hammer, and a truly thoughtful and generous woman,” said Montreal based shop Les Garcons Boutique.
“Working with her was a privilege, but being her friends was the real gift. Her kindness, her humour, her crazy ideas. How many projects have we pitched all together?” they added.
Knitters are also being asked to contribute to a knitted crochet flower that will be placed on Brimscombe’s war memorial, with drop off locations available at local businesses.
Ms Jones has joined local volunteers to prepare soup for the emergency workers.
“It’s absolutely devastating, the word shocked gets bandied about but we don’t know what to think, what to say,” she said.
“There’s a real need from everyone I’ve spoken to be together, to want to be together and to support each other,” she added.
“There really aren’t any words to describe how impossible it is, how deep the shock is and how hard it is to process, I think it’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of support and talking to each other.”
Holy Trinity Church in Brimscombe will also remain open to allow people to “grieve together” in the wake of the “terrible tragedy,” Rev Peter Francis told the BBC.
A fundraiser set up to financially support Mr Shearman and help him rebuild has so far reached more than £300,000.
Out of respect, nearby Burleigh Court has cancelled its New Year’s Eve fireworks display and will instead make a donation in support of the family.
Work will now take place to make the building safe to enable Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service to investigate the cause of the fire.
However, police have confirmed that there are no suspicious circumstances around the blaze’s cause.
