Daughter’s struggle to accept father’s fire death

The 26-year-old says she cannot understand how her father Ronnie Taylor came to die in the blaze on Sunday evening.

Fire crews from Edlington, Rotherham and Doncaster were called to the property on Church Road, Denaby Main, at 7.10pm.

The victim was rescued from his home by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus and taken to hospital suffering the effects of smoke inhalation, but he died later.

Mr Taylor, who was in his sixties, was single. He had two children.

It is understood that he lived at the house for about two years and was a well-known local character.

Mr Taylor’s daughter, who asked not to be named, paid tribute to her father and said he will be much missed.

She said that her father was at a turning point in his life after being in prison, beating drugs and tackling alcoholism.

She said: “He led an eventful life.

“He was a good dad, always did more than his best to provide for us as did my mum. We had a lot more then other kids growing up.

“We spoke often and he has always been a talented man, so gifted and a great eye for detail, an amazing artist and he has done some great drawings, great with his hands making things such as houses out of matchsticks, roses out of bread. He even turned a bus into a motorhome and sold it to Craig Charles from Red Dwarf.

“He was always helpful to people. All the kids loved him, he would always buy them an ice cream.

“He just had a hard time coming off the drink.

“To lose him in a house fire, it’s come as a great shock 

“In the last few years he was turning his life around. He stayed off the drugs and the only thing he was having a problem with was the drink but he had cut down.

“Many will attend the funeral and many are hurting right now. He was funny and caring and always did all he could to help his friends. 

Mr Taylor’s daughter said she was coming to the area soon to find out what had happened.

She said: “I just want to say my goodbyes to him but also to check it’s him because I am finding it hard to believe.

“He was an alcoholic. He drank every day and was used to drinking so even if he was paralytic he would wake up if he heard a noise like a fire. Any sort of little noise would have woken him up.”

Mr Taylor’s daughter said her father had been in prison on a number of occasions but was looking ahead.

Local people said that Mr Taylor was well-known in the community.

Neighbour Mrs Vivian Fort told the Weekender that the fire must have taken hold rapidly because she was working in her garden shortly before the fire engines arrived and had seen nothing suspicious.

She said: “It must have happened so quickly. I was in my garden watering the plants and had not finished that long before they arrived so it must have happened quite quickly.”

Mrs Fort said that local people were shocked at what had happened and that a number of people had been out on the street watching the incident unfold.

She said that she saw black smoke – but no flames – coming out of the front and rear of the house. Mrs Fort said that she believed the fire started in the kitchen.

Mrs Fort said: “He was a bit of a loveable rogue.

“He was popular.”

Mrs Fort believed that Mr Taylor’s Jack Russell dog must have perished in the blaze.

Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “He had a lot of friends go to the house.”