“[We could see] a little flash through the window from where we were standing and then I just yelled out to everyone to ring the fire brigade, get the key and get the animals out of there,” Adams said.
He said there were two 3-month-old kittens, Evi and Stitch, and a slightly older cat about 2 or 3 years old named Storm, inside the sleepout at the time of the fire.
“By the time that happened, it was basically fully engulfed.”
He said it only took firefighters about five minutes to put out the fire after they arrived.
“I’d like to thank them very much, it could have been worse.”
Adams said firefighters had been investigating the cause of the fire but had not determined one yet.
He said his daughter and her husband used to sleep in the sleepout before moving into the house when they had their baby, and the sleepout still contained many of their belongings.
“People should be aware that it can happen at any stage and don’t take things for granted,” he said.
A Givealittle page has been set up by Payton Grant, a family member, to help the Adams family recover from the loss of clothes, baby clothes and furniture.
“The homeowners are my kids’ grandparents, I’m pretty close with everyone that lives in that house,” Grant said.
“I’m very close, especially with [Justin’s daughter] who lost basically everything and her son who is only 10 weeks older than my baby, so I wanted to try to help them in any way. That’s why I made the page,” Grant said.