Mum trapped with baby in 'choking dark smoke' as flat fire kills two sisters

23 April 2024 , 12:29

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Grace Chidubem Ekohwo helped protect Gabriel by using a wet towel

A brave mum who was trapped in a flat fire with her baby has recalled the moment she was saved whilst "thick black smoke" surrounded them.

Grace Chidubem Ekohwo, from Aberdeen, Scotland, was at home with her three-week-old son Gabriel when the blaze suddenly ripped through her flat block at night. She was alerted to the fire after she heard people yelling outside the building at around 6.30pm on January 29. Luckily for her, rescue teams arrived just in time as she was gestured to climb down a ladder placed outside her window.

But whilst Grace made it out alive, two sisters, Aanchal Subedi and Shikshya Subedi, died after the inferno erupted at the back of the building on Back Hilton Road. Speaking about the frightening ordeal, the mum said: "I was covered in thick dark smoke that almost got me choking."

Grace explained that she was carrying her son in her arms and quickly dashed to the bathroom. She managed to place a wet towel over his head in a bid to protect him from the smoke. She added: "Every single passing moment I saw the smoke increasing, I paced from one room to another trying to open the windows, but could only get the bedroom window where I was with Gabriel opened."

The fire took place in Aberdeen in January (NEWSLINE MEDIA LIMITED)

Using just the light on her phone, she signalled out of the window and thankfully, cops and fire service arrived just in the nick of time, reports Aberdeen Live. She continued: "When we were both covered in the thick smoke, I saw the fire service come up with a ladder to the window." Baby Gabriel was taken down first and rushed straight to the ambulance to be given immediate care. The police then took Grace and baby to The Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital (RACH) where Gabriel stabilised and taken for further tests.

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Two days after the ordeal, Grace and Gabriel were officially discharged from the hospital. The mum expressed her gratitude to a local charity who have supported the pair in the months following their horrifying ordeal. With their flat having been ruined by the fire, Grace says the family would have had nowhere to go if The Archie Foundation’s Family Centre hadn’t been there.

They checked into the facility and stayed there until they found temporary accommodation the following week. Grace added: "Through their loving and caring personnel, we were in every way and sense cared for. We lacked nothing we needed at that instance." The Family Centre, which runs free of charge, helps keep families close during times when a child is in the hospital overnight.

With private rooms, laundry facilities and a lounge for cooking and playing, it’s built to be like a home away from home for families. Having lost Gabriel’s pram to the fire, Grace was unable to take him on walks, but through The Archie Foundation’s Financial Support service, a two-in-one travel system pushchair was bought for them.

Grace explained how the charity has come to her aid, saying: "We are tremendously excited and very grateful. I and my family are feeling very relieved. We feel very loved and cared for by Archie Foundation. We left for a temporary place on Monday 5th February, 2024. But at the moment, The Archie Foundation is still giving us their moral support. Thank you The Archie Foundation."

Monica Charsley