Care home destroyed by fire

This story has been updated to include additional details. See updated post here.

MANAGEMENT at Mary Care, a care home for unwed teenage mothers, is asking for help after a fire destroyed 90 per cent of the building.

The fire began at around 11 pm on April 30 at the home on Gallus Street, Woodbrook, and quickly engulfed the building.

Fire officers have not yet found the cause of the blaze.

Luckily, none of the home's occupants – including four teenage girls, two toddlers, and a staff member – were injured.

The children are being temporarily housed at St Jude's Home for Girls, and staff say that arrangement, while appreciated, is not sustainable.

"We will have to move them soon because St Jude's doesn't cater for people with babies," said the home's manager Deborah DeRosia.

DeRosia and the rest of the management team sprung into action and spent May 1 viewing possible locations.

Three potential buildings have been found, but they all need some level of renovation to make the space ideal.

In the meantime, the public is being asked to help the young mothers replace their belongings.

"We want to move into the new facility in three to four days, and we need everything," said DeRosia.

"The food that would have been there for the babies, the clothes, everything, all the belongings, everything was destroyed."

She said furniture and appliances also needed to be replaced, and hoped the public would step up to help any way it could.

"Everything that goes into the making of a house. We have to put it together."

Anyone willing to help can call Deborah De Rosia - 360-4850; Dr Cynthia Low Chew Tung - 752-1451; Angela Gonzales - 680-9024; Eleanor Wells - 294-5327; Marilyn Mora-Francis - 680-0153; Deborah John-Belle - 499-3873.