// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
'We cannot show our grandson photos of his dad after wildfire destroyed our house'
Sandy and Uttam Shiralkar face a two-year wait to rebuild their home
Treasured photos of family members, destroyed forever - those are among the key possessions which Sandy and Uttam Shiralkar say they will never hold again.
They were among the 19 families who lost their homes when two fires started accidentally and tore through dry grass and into their estate in Stourbridge, in the West Midlands, on the hottest day of the year.
"We have lost 20, 30 years of memories. They may be there in the mind but you can't share them with others," Uttam said.
He was working from home on 13 August when he first noticed the smell of smoke, at first thinking someone was having a barbecue.
How did some houses survive the Stourbridge fire while neighbours lost everything?
Within minutes he was forced to flee from the house with only the clothes he was wearing, along with his car keys.
The next time the couple were allowed to return to the home, which they had lived in for 19 years, was four days later, to see how bad the damage was.
"It was a shock, it is true, we have lost our house," Uttam said.
"Our photographs, we had everything in the house, gone," Sandy added.