Troy Branton, Penni Rawson: Epping locals homeless, dog missing, after fire guts home

A volunteer firey and his partner are homeless after a fire gutted their home over the weekend, while the search continues for their dog Ben.

A local volunteer firey and his partner are homeless after a fire gutted their home over the weekend. ​

A local volunteer firefighter and his partner are homeless after a their Epping property was gutted over the weekend.

Troy Branton and Penni Rawson left to pick up Mr Branton’s young children from school on Friday afternoon, and came back to see their house in flames.

In a series of bitter blows, Leader understands Mr Branton has since discovered he didn’t have home insurance, while their pet dog, Ben, is feared dead.

On Monday, Ms Rawson, who owns PJ Custom Cakes, told Leader the family are living with Mr Branton’s brother-in-law.

Leader understands Mr Branton and Ms Rawson returned with the former’s children, aged seven and nine respectively, to find the house engulfed in flames.

In a Facebook post, the Epping Fire Brigade said it was believed an electrical fault causes a fire which began in the home’s study and quickly spread to the second level.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by a friend of the couple, Alina Rehman, and has so far raised just under $10,000.

You can donate to by searching ‘help Troy and Penni rebuild their life’ on gofundme.com.

More to come.