'We escaped war in Ukraine and now we are homeless after Preston house fire - please help'
The Yantsiuk family fled to the UK to escape missiles in the Ukraine war but they have found themselves homeless after a fire spread from a neighbour’s shed. Fire and water damage has left their terraced home in Ashton, Preston, uninhabitable and they appealing for help to find alternative accommodation for themselves and their two young daughters, aged four and eight. We report.
It was the unusual noise which Yaroslava Yantsiuk heard first - a crackling sound which seemed out of place on a sunny July lunchtime in Preston.
The 38-year-old had just returned to the family’s rented home in Greendale Mews, off West Park Avenue in Ashton, Preston, after the short walk to collect her eldest daughter Snizhana, eight, from nearby Ashton Primary School on Friday - an early finish on the last day of summer term. Yaroslava was preparing lunch for the family, including younger daughter Diana, four, when the noise became louder. Her husband Bohdan, 34, who works in construction in Preston, was at work.
“I was very surprised and didn’t know what it could be so I went upstairs and looked out the window at the back of the house,” said Yaroslava. “I then noticed a shed was on fire a few houses away, in the far right corner. I was shocked. I went downstairs and outside to knock on the neighbour’s door to let them know. I thought they must have the TV on or something and not noticed. I then bumped into another neighbour from who was talking urgently on his phone, calling for help.”
Yaroslava explained neighbours then knocked loudly on the doors and windows of the house with the fire but nobody was home. Eventually, neighbours broke down the door and rescued two dogs from inside.
Meanwhile, she went home again and looked out of the upstairs window of her house (see video). She realised the fierce blaze was spreading along the back fence from house to house very quickly and setting fire to the neighbouring properties. In fact, she later found out, the fire was spreading above her head and into the loft area of the houses. Fortunately she and her two daughters were able to leave the house safely, albeit with just a few vital documents and the clothes on their back.
Firefighters arrived and evacuated the row of houses. A Lancashire Fire and Rescue spokesperson said: “At 12:28 hours on 17 July 2026, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service was called to reports of a domestic building fire on Greendale Mews, Preston, secondary to a controlled burn in a garden. Five fire engines and one aerial appliance attended. The fire involved the roof space of a terraced property and was extinguished by firefighters using two breathing apparatus. Fire crews remained on scene.”
The Yantsiuks were just one of four households on Greendale Mews told by firefighters they couldn’t return to their home due to fire and water damage. Luckily, no-one was injured. The family were allowed briefly inside the house, escorted by firefighters, to collect belongings but most have been ruined as ceilings have collapsed due to water damage.
Bohdan Yantsiuk told the Lancashire Post: “It’s bad, we feel so bad, and we don’t know what to do. We really need to find a house quickly. Anywhere in the area - but we really need to be back in Ashton before the next school term starts as my youngest also starts school at Ashton Primary in September. I’ve had to take time off work for the family, the kids. I need to work and we need help.”
The Yantsiuks fled their village - Hzizd in the Ivano-Frankivsk region of western Ukraine - when war broke out in 2022. Following Friday’s fire they have been given emergency shelter by a member of Preston’s Ukrainian community, who has taken them into their own home near Goosnargh for few nights. But they can’t stay and need a short to medium term solution to keep a roof over their heads and return to the safer life they have fought to secure in Preston.
Inspectors were due to check their home on Monday morning but the property is unlikely to be habitable. “I’ll even do work on it myself”, said Bohdan. “We need our home. We are desperate.”
Ashton Primary School posted on Facebook on Friday. "Our hearts go out to members of our community whose houses have been damaged in the fire this evening. It did not reach school but has affected some of our neighbours. We hope nobody has been hurt and staff on site are offering support."
- Interviews with Yaroslava and Bhodan were conducted in person via a Ukrainian-English interpreter.
- If you can help the Yantsiuk’s with available accommodation please email [email protected]