She sounded panicked, she was just trying to boil an egg - now she can't return home

Maureen Knowles, 75, is unable to return home and is facing thousands of pounds in repair costs

An elderly Leeds woman is staying with family after a kitchen fire destroyed much of her home and left her facing thousands of pounds in repairs.

Maureen Knowles, 75, from Bramley, was boiling an egg when she accidentally lit the wrong hob, causing a pan containing oil to catch fire. Her daughter Sharon Hodgson, 52, has now launched a fundraiser to help her mum get back into her home after discovering her home insurance had expired.

Maureen lives alone and is currently staying with Sharon and her husband Mark, 51, who, thankfully, live just two streets away. The family are now rallying around Maureen, who has been left facing the cost of making the property safe, repairing the fire and smoke damage and installing a completely new kitchen.

Sharon said Maureen had been boiling an egg when the fire started on Saturday, September 12. Sharon told Leeds Live: "I was just at home on the Saturday when mum phoned me, she sounded panicked, she said I've got a fire in the kitchen can you ring the fire brigade, I told her to leave the property and told my husband Mark to run round while I rang 999.

"When he got there she was stood in the garden, he said he could smell the smoke as soon as he got outside, we live two streets away. When he got there he could see flames coming out of the front door, I joined shortly afterwards and obviously we were just so relieved she was ok.

"It's completely destroyed the downstairs of the property, it was a further blow when we realised her home insurance has expired and she hadn't renewed it. "A friend suggested setting up a GoFundMe to get her back on her feet. Obviously we're helping where we can and she did have some savings but not enough to cover it. Everyone has been so kind and helpful, she's had gifts from family and friends replacing kitchen appliances and other essentials, she gets so emotional every time."

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Asked how Maureen is doing, Sharon said: "She's doing ok, she's staying with us at the minute, she's a really strong woman my mum, she's not had the easiest set of cards in life, she's really head strong, she keeps saying she's fine but I know she's struggled sleeping, it's shocked her and shaken her definitely.

"She's always the first to help anyone my mum and now she needs a bit of help herself, she is so selfless will do anything for everyone so I'm hoping we can now give her something back and get her back on her feet. She doesn't know about this, she will be very emotional when I tell her, she's not one for asking for help.

"It was just a boiled egg on the stove, it's easily done. We feel very lucky it wasn't worse and obviously just so relieved that she is ok and it wasn't worse." The fire service was able to prevent the blaze from spreading through the rest of the property, the family were told the old Artex ceilings had helped stop the fire spreading upstairs.

However, the kitchen has had to be gutted back to the brick and will need to be completely replaced. Upon hearing what happened, a local company, Concept Construction, has kindly offered to help gut the kitchen.

There is also smoke damage to the front room, while thankfully the upstairs of the property was not damaged. Sharon only discovered after the fire that her mum's home insurance had expired, meaning there is no insurance cover to help with the cost of putting the property right.

Maureen had some savings set aside for a rainy day, but the family say there is not enough to cover the scale of the work now needed.

She is now relying on her small pension while the family tries to raise money towards the repairs and essential items she has lost.

The fundraiser says: "On Saturday, September 12, 2026, our mum's home was sadly damaged after her kitchen caught fire. Thankfully, the most important thing is that she is safe, but the fire has left her facing an incredibly difficult and upsetting situation.

"Luckily for her the West Yorkshire Fire Service arrived quickly and saved the rest of her home but her kitchen is gone. Unfortunately, she did not renew home insurance cover, which means there is no insurance cover to help with the cost of the damage.

"She is now having to cover everything herself from making the house safe and repairing the fire and smoke damage, to replacing a full kitchen. She can’t stay at her home at the moment.

"My mum lives on a small pension, and the costs are quickly becoming far more than she can manage alone. At a time in her life when she should feel safe and comfortable in her own home, she is instead facing the worry of how she will afford to put everything right.

"We have set up this fundraiser in the hope of taking some of that burden away from her and helping her get back into a safe, warm and comfortable home.

"Any donation, no matter how small, would mean so much to our family and will go towards the costs of repairing the damage and replacing the essentials she has lost. If you aren’t able to donate, simply sharing this fundraiser would be an enormous help.

"We haven’t told her about this but we know we need to try take that worry away and we can only so much as a family. Thank you so much for taking the time to read her story and for any support you can give."

The family hope the appeal will help take some of the financial pressure away from Maureen and allow her to return to the home she has lived in once it is safe again. They are asking anyone who can help to donate or share the fundraiser and help Maureen get back on her feet.

You can support Maureen and her family through their GoFundMe fundraiser here.