Maria Luana Ellul loaded up her tumble dryer with towels on Saturday night, before heading to bed, where she was joined by her husband Yan Schembri shortly afterwards.
By 2am, their ground-floor Tarxien maisonette was engulfed in smoke.
“I opened my eyes and thought I had gone blind as I couldn’t see anything, only to realise it was smoke from the fire,” Ellul told Times of Malta.
The family is still getting over the shock of the fire, sparked by the tumble dryer, which luckily left no victims.
The couple’s children, seven-year-old Adam Ray and four-year-old Carly Jay, were asleep at the time, she said.
Jolted out of bed, Ellul sprang into action, picking up her son and dashed outside, screaming in panic.
“My biggest shock came when I couldn’t find my daughter but I could hear her,” she continued. “I followed her voice but knew I had to be fast.”
Once she located her daughter, she carried her outside to join her brother.
By that time, the house was filled with thick, white smoke and Ellul was concerned it would spread to her parents’ home, located on the floor above theirs.
She called the fire brigade and rushed upstairs to ensure her parents were safe, only to find that the upper floor was undamaged by the fire.
While Ellul tended to the safety of her children and parents, her husband, who suffers from asthma, attempted to extinguish the fire.
“He panicked and panicked but he tried his best to control the fire,” she said.
The couple were later told that the source of the fire was traced to a tumble dryer they had repaired over the holiday season. After the appliance developed a fault, the family had the machine repaired, but the fix had failed, leading to the fateful blaze.
This harrowing experience has left Ellul with a sobering message for others: “If you have something that needs to be fixed, do it and do it properly, even if it means spending that little bit extra. You never know what could happen otherwise.”
The family is now beginning to grasp the extent of the damage they found on Sunday morning.
Every room was affected, with the kitchen being hit the hardest. Its walls were blackened and cupboards were destroyed.
“Material things aren’t everything but starting over is hard. I’m just glad we’re OK,” Ellul said.
Despite the devastation, the family has found solace in the overwhelming support they have received. Gillian Attard, Ellul’s employer at La Voix Academy, posted about the fire online, launching an appeal for donations to help the family. The response was immediate and generous.
“We didn’t expect anyone to do anything. If Gillian hadn’t posted it, I wouldn’t have mentioned anything,” Ellul admitted.
By yesterday morning, the family decided to stop accepting donations as they managed to recover enough funds. Ellul and Schembri encouraged those wishing to donate further to support local charities such as Dar Bjorn and Puttinu Cares instead.
Schembri also took to social media to thank the public for their support. As a videographer who typically works behind the camera, he stepped out of his comfort zone to share a heartfelt message.
“In my life, I’ve always tried to help others but, until now, I never needed help myself,” he said. “Unfortunately, the experience we had over the weekend took everything.”
He also praised the “impeccable” emergency services for their swift response and urged others to appreciate what they have. Their story serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of fire safety and the community’s kindness.