‘I can’t get out’ my wife screamed, then there was silence – how a ‘bargain’ second-hand buy cost me my family

SITTING, watching other families enjoying the summer weather, Scott Peden’s heart breaks because he will never see his wife or children again. 

Scott 32, from Cambridge, lost his partner, Gemma Germeney, 31, and their two young children, Lilly, eight, and Oliver, four, in a ferocious fire at their home. The family’s two dogs also perished.

After four weeks in a coma, Scott miraculously pulled through and has been slowly trying to rebuild his life. 

“I’m still in love with Gemma, I still miss my children every minute of the day,” he says. “My physical injuries are debilitating, but the mental scars are the worst.” 

It was June 2023 when Scott’s family died in a house fire caused by a faulty e-bike battery . 

I heard Gemma shout, ‘I can’t get out,’ and then there was nothing.

Scott Peden

“I still can’t process what’s happened,” he says. “I lost my entire family, everything, in a matter of minutes.

“People shouldn’t be relaxed about charging batteries in their home during the summer. And there need to be stricter regulations over the resale of batteries – they should be checked and certified.

“We had smoke alarms, but because it was a lithium battery, we didn’t stand a chance.

“I lost everything in the fire, and I have to start all over again. The only positive to come from this is me making sure it does not happen to anyone else.

College sweethearts 

Scott and his partner, Gemma, met at college in Cambridge as teenagers and moved in together eleven years ago. They had two children, Lilley and Oliver, who were aged eight and four when they died.

The family also had a greyhound-boxer cross, named Bitsy, and a Dalmatian called Rolo.

Scott says: “We were a happy family, Gemma was very maternal and loved being a mum.

“She was also very artistic. She loved drawing, puzzles and colouring. She had a dream of being a baker and, with Oliver due to start school, she was looking at returning to work.

“I worked full time at Marks and Spencer, but with a young family, money was tight.”

To help out, Scott’s mum, Glenda Hanson, bought him an e-bike early in 2022, which he used to travel to work.

He says: “The e-bike was brilliant. I did shift work, so couldn’t rely on the buses, and it was too far to walk.”

But in June 2023, after he had nipped out to buy dog food, his battery was stolen from outside a local shop. Faced with no way of getting to work, Scott ordered a second-hand replacement on eBay .

He says: “A new battery cost £600, so when I found one on eBay for £300, I thought it was a bargain.”

Woken up by a bang 

Scott left the battery to charge downstairs, in the hallway. But on the second night, he and Gemma were woken at 12.45am by a huge bang. Scott ran to investigate and saw the staircase was in flames.

He says: “The bang was like a bomb going off. The stairs were engulfed in flames – the walls, the banister, the whole lot was alight. I knew we had no chance of making it downstairs.

“I tried screaming for help out of the window, but nobody came and so I jumped out, into the back garden, breaking my heel as I landed.

“I got in through the back door and realised immediately the e-bike was the source. I tried to throw the battery outside, but the door was so hot, it burned my hands, and then the key melted. The fire was spreading, and I was choking, and I realised there was no way through.

“I ran back out to the garden, hoping to persuade Gemma and the children to jump.

“Two years on, I still can’t process what’s happened.

Scott Peden

“I heard Gemma shout: ‘I can’t get out,’ and then there was nothing.

“The house was ablaze, and I collapsed onto the children’s trampoline behind me. I was aware of someone patting me down and realised I was on fire.”

Neighbours called for help and stayed with Scott until firefighters and paramedics arrived. Scott saw Lilly’s body being carried out of the house and passed out with the trauma.

He was placed in a coma for four weeks and treated at Broomfield Hospital, a specialist burns unit, in Chelmsford.

Glenda, 65, flew back from a holiday to be at his bedside.

Unrecognisable injuries 

She says: “I didn’t even recognise him at first. He was heavily bandaged, and his face was very swollen and blackened with burns. I was told it was touch-and-go.

“The lithium battery fumes, which are toxic, had gotten into his lungs and caused severe damage.”

Over the coming weeks, Scott survived several brushes with death, including three bouts of pneumonia , a cardiac arrest , and an infection.

When he awoke, he remembered all the details of the fire – but did not know if his family had survived.

Glenda says: “That was the worst thing, having to tell him that they didn’t make it.”

At a joint funeral, Scott played Ed Sheeran’s Perfect which was his and Gemma’s song. The family’s ashes are all buried together.

Scott says: “Two years on, I still can’t process what’s happened.

I lost my entire family, everything, in a matter of minutes

Scott

“We had so much to look forward to, and I dread this new life, on my own. I don’t even have photos to remember them by – everything I owned was destroyed.

“We’re still waiting for an inquest date, and I feel like I’m in limbo without closure.

“My lungs are badly scarred, and I walk with a stick because of the damage to my foot. But by far the worst is the anxiety and PTSD . I don’t sleep, and I have terrible flashbacks.

“I wish I could be part of a family again, but I don’t want to move on – I’m still in love with Gemma.

“I’ve gone back to work part-time, and I’ve set up a Lego shed in my back garden to keep me busy. Brian, my dog, is very therapeutic too.

“I want to warn other families of the dangers of buying second-hand batteries.

“There should be greater regulation, especially where lithium batteries are concerned.

“I thought I was saving money, which is something all young families try to do.

“I would never have had the battery in my home if I’d known there was a risk.”