A business owner has been “overwhelmed” by community support after a fire ripped through her house just days after her partner suffered a brain haemorrhage and a stroke.
Joanna Rae and Tony Seal had moved from Manchester to the small village of Charleston, near Forfar, in 2019 before starting That BBQ Guy business in the local community.
The couple’s four-bedroom home, which they share with their children, Olivia, Charlie, Ryan and Harvey, was badly damaged in a fire on Friday evening as Tony was receiving medical treatment at Ninewells Hospital.
In the past 24 hours members of the local community created a fundraising page to help the couple, who have suffered a traumatic few weeks.
Despite only setting an initial target of £200, over £2,000 has been raised from those on their doorstep and further afield.
Joanna, 40, said the local community had been “amazing” since Tony, 51, suffered a stroke and brain haemorrhage at their home on January 29 – just days before the fire.
Joanna added that she has been “grateful” for acts of kindness that have been shown by everyone.
The pair, who both worked for the ambulance service in Manchester, have usually been the ones looking to help those in need.
Couple started a new life in Angus
She added: “Tony is currently in Ninewells Hospital undergoing occupational therapy. He will hopefully be transferred to Brain Injury Rehab Centre at Royal Victoria when he is able to do so to aid in his recovery.
“We decided to start a new life up here. I had to retire for medical reasons from the ambulance service due to being diagnosed with MS.
“Tony had been involved in the emergency service response at the Manchester Arena Bombing in 2017 at the Ariana Grande concert.
“He had also been a police officer during the Manchester bombing of the Arndale Centre in 1996 by the IRA.
“Tony was also a chef. We had been doing events in Manchester at festivals but we decided to move up here and started a business and hoped to do festivals in Scotland before Covid-19 struck.
“Looking at what’s happened over recent days you think ‘this is something you see happening on a TV show, it won’t happen to someone like me.’
“We haven’t been able to see Tony due to Covid-19 and then the fire happened at around 5.30pm on Friday.
“Thankfully, everyone got out safely but given our rural residence it took about 15 minutes for the fire crews to get out here and the fire ripped through the property.”
She added: “The house has been badly damaged, you can see from the pictures yourself. And the other parts are badly smoke damaged and it’s about ankle deep in water.
“We dragged everything out that we could from the house before the fire took hold but there was only so much we could do.”
‘Overwhelmed by the response’
Joanna was “stunned” by the money that has been raised.
She added: “The local community have been incredible throughout this.
“I knew a crowdfunding page had been set up but I had no idea the total would reach the level it has in such a short space of time.
“Due to my medical condition, people helped me down the lane after the fire. They have gone above and beyond to help me and my family.
“Everyone is having a hard time with this pandemic. We’ve only been in this area for such a short space of time so we are overwhelmed by the response.”
To donate please visit the JustGiving page: help Joanna and Tony
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