A young mother and her two children tragically lost their lives in a devastating house fire on Boxing Day, while her husband, a police officer, survived and is currently in the hospital.
Fionnghuala Shearman, affectionately known as Nu, was killed along with her seven-year-old daughter Eve and four-year-old son Ohner when flames engulfed their home on Brimscombe Hill, near Stroud.
Her husband, Tom, who serves as an officer with Gloucestershire police, managed to escape the blaze. The couple had been married for approximately ten years.
Friends of the Shearman family expressed their shock and sorrow over the incident. “It’s absolutely shocking,” one friend shared with the Mail. “We’re all in disbelief and have no idea what caused the fire.”
Another friend from the Cotswold community of Chipping Campden described the incident as “dreadful,” reflecting the deep sense of loss felt by those who knew the family.
Another friend of the family, living in the Cotswold community of Chipping Campden, said the tragedy was ‘dreadful’.
Emergency services were called to the ‘well-established’ fire at the home at about 3am.
Gloucestershire Constabulary said Mr Shearman attempted to rescue his wife and two children but was beaten back by the severity of the flames.
Fionnghuala Shearman, known to friends as Nu, perished alongside daughter Eve, seven, and son Ohner, four, as flames swept through their home on Brimscombe Hill, near Stroud. Her husband, Tom, survived
Tom is a serving Gloucestershire police officer and escaped the inferno. The pair had been married for around a decade
Emergency services were called to the ‘well-established’ fire at a property on Brimscombe Hill, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, at about 3am on December 26
In an update today, Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher said the couple had been woken by the fire and tried to reach their children in the rear bedroom.
‘They have been unable to get to the back bedroom due to the voracity of the fire,’ he said.
‘The father has smashed his way out of the house through a bathroom window in order to try to access the children’s bedroom via the outside.
‘He has been unable to enter the property via that bedroom window.’
DS Fletcher said Mr Shearman tried to get back into the property to rescue his wife and children but was unable to do so.
The officer continued: ‘He has then tried to re-enter the property through the bathroom window, by which stage the fire has taken hold in the bathroom and he’s unable to get back into the upstairs bedrooms.
‘He has subsequently gone downstairs and tried to force entry via the front and the back door but has been unable to get back inside to the property.
‘It is at this point our colleagues from emergency services have attended and have started managing and dealing with that fire.’
DS Fletcher said the fire was believed to have started on the ground floor and investigations were ongoing to establish the cause, but it was not being treated as suspicious.
Friends of the couple said they had been left ‘shellshocked’ by the tragedy
The burnt roof timbers of the house near Stroud – pictured today
Mrs Shearman was born in Cheltenham and ran a successful business making canvas and leather bags.
But earlier this month she announced the firm, Hide and Hammer, would be closing its workshop for the foreseeable future.
She regularly posted photographs of her family on social media, and was a keen runner alongside her husband.
The extent of the fire at the family home has caused the roof of the mid-terrace Cotswold stone cottage to fall in and the ceilings and stairs have collapsed.
A body of a woman in her 40s has been recovered from the house, while the body of a child has been located at the scene.
DS Fletcher said work was underway to recover the body of the second child but the unstable nature of the property meant this would take time.
Chloe Turner, who represents Minchinhampton on Stroud District Council for the Green Party, said: ‘If anyone in the community has information that may assist in the investigation, or needs any support as a result of the incident, please call 101 or let the on-site police know, and they will direct you to the appropriate agency.
‘The emergency services and councils are working closely together, but if you have any problems, please let me know.
‘My thoughts are very much with everyone impacted by this tragic incident.’
