A woman who died in a house fire in west Belfast will be remembered as an “amazing lady” as fundraising efforts continue to assist her grieving family, including her three children who previously lost their father to cancer.
Debbie Burns died in the fire at her home in New Barnsley Park in the Whiterock area on Monday afternoon.
Emergency services arrived shortly before 3.30pm and the blaze was extinguished, but Ms Burns was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have said they are not treating the death as suspicious.
Tributes have been paid to the 56-year-old mother of three and grandmother following the tragedy.
Now an appeal has been launched to help her family cover the cost of her funeral and to support them as they face repair bills following the damage to her house.
Relative Dorothea Burns has set up an online fundraising page, which explained how Ms Burns’ children had previously suffered the loss of their father.
“Unfortunately the fire destroyed the family home and her children have lost all their family possessions,” she said.
“Debbie leaves behind three children, Debbie-Leigh, Gavin and Brandon, who are now faced with the immense pressure of expensive funeral costs and also house repairs.
“This has put massive financial pressure on them and with Christmas being next week, we feel it’s only right to help them in any way we can.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time they have faced grief. When they were teenagers, they lost their beloved Daddy after a year long battle with cancer. It’s difficult to believe they’ve now lost their Mummy in these tragic circumstances. It’s heartbreaking knowing that on top of all this grief, they don’t even have their family home.
Dorothea added: “We just want to help the family in anyway we can, especially since it’s so close to Christmas.”
As of Thursday, almost £4,000 of a £5,000 target had been raised on the GoFundMe page.
No funeral details for Ms Burns have yet been released.
In a social media post, Ms Burns' daughter Debbie-Leigh wrote: “Please please god someone wake me up from this big bad dream I really don’t no how I’m gonna do life without you mummy.”
Among those to pay tribute to her online was friend Emma Darragh, who wrote in a social media post that she was an “an amazing lady now back in the arms of her husband Liam”.