A COUPLE whose first home together was left in soggy ruins following the Fulford Place fire have learned it could be six months before they can move back in.

Dan Adams and his partner Michelle McCormack have been left with only a handful of possessions after fire tore through the flats complex in Hospital Fields Road in York on Friday night.

It took 80 firefighters most of the night to get the inferno under control.

The next day, when the pair were allowed five minutes to grab a few belongings, they saw with horror the damage caused by the gallons of water used to put out the blaze.

Miss McCormack, 24, an assistant manager at Co-operative Bank, in York city centre, said: "There was lot and lots of water everywhere. Just puddles of it. Under your feet it was just squidging underneath. It was water from the River Ouse, so it's even more stinky.

"When we went in, water was just dripping from the ceiling, walls and lights."

Miss McCormack and her partner, Mr Adams, 27, who works for Leeds City Council social services, moved into the luxury apartment in June, and had spent thousands of pounds on decorating and furniture. Their beds, carpets, televisions, furniture were wrecked, leaving them with an insurance claim that will run into several thousands of pounds.

"It was just how we wanted it and now we're facing all this upheaval. They've said it is going to take six months before we can move back in," said Miss McCormack.

They are not allowed to return for another week while safety assessments are carried out, which means Miss McCormack will miss out on visiting her family in County Kildare, Ireland, as her tickets and currency are still in the waterlogged flat.

"We have some possessions left and we are quite lucky that it is just water damage," she said.

The couple are living with Mr Adams' father in Acomb, York, until they find accommodation.

Residents have called a meeting with fire and water chiefs to find out why it took so long to put out the fire.

Neighbour vows to launch fund for uninsured victims

A RESIDENT whose flat was destroyed in the Fulford Place inferno today pledged to launch a fund for uninsured victims.

Kate McCarthy believes at least 20 neighbours may not have had contents cover.

One uninsured resident was Julian Williams, 32, who rented a penthouse gutted in the blaze.

He claimed the fire doors in his flat, designed to resist fire, burnt down in the blaze. He estimated he has lost about £10,000 of belongings and said insurance slipped his mind as he was renting.

Mr Williams said: "I'm just going to have to start again with nothing. It's a nightmare."

Miss McCarthy, who was insured but whose ground floor flat was destroyed by water, said: "These people have been left with nothing. They need help to get them through the next few months. Even if they have got possessions left in their flat, they can't get to them because they are all boarded up.

"I've been able to go out and buy some clothes and will get it back on insurance. Others will not be able to do so."

Miss McCarthy, currently staying in a hotel with her daughter, today called on anybody who was willing to help her set up a fund to phone her on 07960 937465.

She said questions were being asked by "shocked" residents of the flats about why the fire spread so quickly through the roof and now had concerns about going back into the flat, which had been valued at £150,000.

Updated: 10:17 Thursday, May 19, 2005