Belmore house fire: Community fundraising helps refugee family

A tragic house fire which ripped through a southwest Sydney apartment saw a family-of-four without a safe place to stay. Find out how the community and a local politician have rallied together.

A tragic house fire in Sydney’s southwest has left a family-of-four precariously close to living on the street, with heartwarming community support helping the household find a short term safe haven.

Iranian refugees Ali Esmaili, Jila Zormand, along with a 16 year old child, and their baby, were left without a place to live after a fire ran through their apartment building in Tudor St, Belmore on April 14.

Without relatives or alternate living options in Sydney, the family have since had to deal with multiple layers of bureaucracy to try and find a place to live.

The aftermath of the fire on Tudor St, Belmore, on April 14. Multiple families were affected.

The family’s plight came to the attention of Canterbury state Labor MP Sophie Cotsis and through her electorate office, helped refugees with accommodation by co-ordinating between various agencies to find a place to stay.

“When situations like this happen, there isn’t one call you make and they can help you,” Ms Cotsis said.

The family was placed in temporary accommodation in Strathfield for a few days, but that quickly expired. Since then the family has stayed in a motel, and have now been accepted for another three day temporary stay in Surry Hills.

The family were not the only ones affected by the blaze, with their neighbours at the four-apartment complex also relocated due to fire and smoke damage.

Lawrence Gilbert had two rabbits in his apartment at the time of the fire and managed to save one before leaving due to smoke inhalation.

Fire and Rescue NSW crew were able to save the other.

Fire and Rescue NSW crews pulled off an Easter rescue when they saved Lawrence Gilbert’s bunny from a unit fire at Belmore in Sydney, just before the Easter long weekend.

Neighbour Dennis — who preferred not to share his last name — said it’s a very tight knit community in the streets surrounding Canterbury Hospital.

He started a GoFundMe to raise money to help the families and said others had donated items and goods.

“Everyone knows each other, when things like this happen, we band together and help each other out,” he said.

“That’s why I like living here.”

Helping out with the situation has reinforced Ms Cotsis’ belief emergency housing and stable housing needed to be a priority.

“This shows the importance of stable housing,” Ms Cotsis said. “In a worst-case scenario, like a fire, there has to be some dwellings available immediately for serious emergency situations.”

Navigating the bureaucracy after tragedies adds an extra layer of difficulty in what is already a tough time.

“Everyone has been good, but it’s taken a lot of time, and it’s very frustrating,” Ms Cotsis said.