"My Child's Popular Toy Burst Into Flames Overnight – We Escaped Through Fire and Windows, Now I'm Urging Other Moms to Take Caution!"

IT was a peaceful night in January this year for mum-of-six Julie Buckler who was in bed drifting off to sleep beside husband Matthew.

But suddenly a blood-curdling scream from son Leon, 16, shattered the silence.

Julie and Matthew Buckler..Matthew Buckler and family feared for their lives in the blaze Credit: WNS Julie’s daughter had to jump from this window Credit: WNS

Because their semi-detached home in Dinas Powys, , was on fire.

Leon and the rest of Julie and Matthew’s children, Courtney, 22, Aiden, 18, and Kaleb, nine, were forced to crawl through thick black smoke and even jump from windows as flames tore through it.

“It was utterly terrifying – it was like night inside our home, sparks and flames shooting everyone,” Julie says. “All that mattered to me was getting my kids out of the house alive.”

While the family escaped, their six bed rented Housing Association semi-detached house was completely destroyed in the fire.

The hallway is smoke-damaged after the blaze Credit: WNS The house Julie’s family crawled through – you can see the remains of the staircase Credit: WNS

They were treated for smoke inhalation and daughter, Courtney, had broken her foot after jumping eight feet out of a bedroom window to escape.

And shockingly it was a common product – their son’s lithium exploding while it charged overnight – which caused the blaze.

Full- time mum, Julie, 41, is speaking out to warn other parents not to let their kids charge scooters while they’re out the house or asleep.

Recalling the terrifying moment the fire started, Julie says: “We were in bed asleep when I heard Leon scream ‘Fire! The house is on fire.’ The terror in his voice was like nothing else.”

She told how husband Matthew, who is waiting for a hip operation and unable to work at present, ran to the landing to see thick black smoke already pouring through the house.

“I then saw Leon dragging his scooter through the hallway while it exploded and shot sparks everywhere,” she says. “It was like fireworks were going off indoors – crackling, banging and popping. I honestly thought the whole thing was going to blow up.”

Leon and Aiden managed to drag the burning outside while Julie ran to wake her other children in the house.

“The smoke was so thick my eyes were burning and I could barely breathe,” she remembers. “All I could think about was getting my children out of the house alive.”

Julie grabbed her son, Kaleb who had just been woken by Courtney and ushered him down the stairs.

“I told him to turn his little body away from the flames and I placed myself between him and the fire,” Julie says. “Matthew grabbed him from me and took him outside.”

But moments after escaping the house, Julie realised Courtney was missing.

“My stomach just dropped and I screamed ‘Courtney’s still inside,” Julie recalls.

Matthew, 40, immediately turned around and ran back towards the house which was by this point an inferno.

But just as Matthew reached the front door Courtney emerged from the side entrance, hobbling. She had jumped eight foot out of her bedroom window to escape the fire.

“My legs gave way and I threw my arms around her,” Julie says. “All that mattered was that we had escaped out of the house alive.”

Their other two children, Chelsea, 20, and Faith, 19, were not in the house at the time.

The traumatised family could do nothing but stand and watch helplessly as their home was devoured by the flames.

“All we could do was stand there and watch our home disappear,” Julie says. “The fire was violent, unpredictable and unstoppable. “It became an inferno within eight minutes. We managed to escape in three minutes. I dread to think what it would be like if it had been any longer.”

Three fire engines rushed to the scene and the blaze took them four hours to get under control before the fire was finally out.

Two ambulances arrived and the family were given oxygen and taken to hospital. Matthew and Aiden were given steroid antibiotics for smoke inhalation.

Doctors confirmed Courtney had fractured her ankle when she had jumped out the bedroom window and she was fitted with a protective boot and given a wheelchair to use.

The next day the family went back to the house. Everything had turned to black ash.

“Our precious family home, where so many of our children’s first milestones had unfolded, was gone,” says Julie.

“Firefighters later told us that the lithium battery in the scooter had kept reigniting. Every time they thought they’d got it under control, it flared up again.

Julie also discovered that the family’s contents insurance did not include fire cover.

“I felt physically sick,” Julie says. “Some people judged but found out when they checked their home insurance theirs didn’t cover fire either. It’s definitely something to check.”

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the fire was caused by a lithium-ion battery.

Julie says the blaze has taken its toll on her.

“I jump at the slightest noise since the fire,” she explains. “Every plug socket terrifies me and every burning smell makes my heart race.

“Leon had had that battery charger for years and we’d had no problems at all. But now I won’t have any lithium batteries in the house at all and I urge everyone else to do the same.

“I know we are very, very lucky because we all got out alive.”

The family are now living in a four-bed rental house in Llantwit Major, South Wales, until their home is repaired.

“We’ve been told that our house should be repaired by Christmas and we can move back. I don’t want any charger batteries in the house. When I see scooters on the street I still panic because I know the damage they can cause.”

London Fire Brigade says lithium-powered e-scooter batteries pose a serious risk if they become damaged, faulty or are charged incorrectly.

It says: “When lithium-ion batteries fail they can ignite quickly and produce intense fires that spread rapidly. They can also produce toxic smoke.”

Warning signs a battery might be damaged include if it becomes unusually hot, if it’s swollen or misshapen, leaks or physical damage to the battery and any strange smells or sounds such as leaks or hissing sounds.