Supporters have rallied to gather £310,000 for a police officer who tragically lost his wife and two children in a devastating house fire on Boxing Day.

The fire claimed the lives of 38-year-old Fionnghuala Shearman and the couple’s children, seven-year-old Eve and four-year-old Ohner, in their Brimscombe residence near Stroud, Gloucestershire. The blaze erupted in the early morning hours, around 3 a.m.

Tom Shearman, a Gloucestershire police officer and Fionnghuala’s husband, survived the tragic event, managing to escape the engulfing flames.

In a heartbreaking attempt to rescue his family, Mr. Shearman battled the intense fire but was ultimately overpowered by its ferocity. Sadly, the family dog also perished in the blaze.

Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher revealed that the couple awoke to the fire and attempted to reach their children, who were in a bedroom at the rear of the house.

The parents were unable to break into their children’s room through the inside so Mr Shearman smashed the nearby bathroom window in the hope he could get into the bedroom from the outside.

He was not able to break into his children’s room.

Serving Gloucestershire police officer Tom Shearman with his wife of around ten years, Fionnghuala Shearman, and their children Eve, aged seven, and four-year-old son Ohner. Tragically, Mrs Shearman and their two children died in a Boxing Day fire 

Mr Shearman and Mrs Shearman. A Now, a GoFundMe set up for Mr Shearman has raised more than £313,000 in donations

Emergency services were called to a mid-terrace Cotswold stone cottage in Brimscombe, near Stroud in Gloucestershire, at about 3am on Boxing Day

He tried to get back into the house to save his family back through the bathroom window, but by that time the fire had cut him off from them here too.

He tried to get in via the front and back doors but these were locked. At this point fire fighters arrived, but it was already too late for Mr Shearman’s family inside. 

Mr Shearman was rushed to hospital but has since been discharged.

In the five days since the tragic fire, more than 15,000 people have donated over £313,000 to help Mr Shearman get back on his feet after losing everything that day.

One anonymous donor gave £10,000 to the cause on GoFundMe, and is listed as its top donation.

The fundraiser was started only three days ago, and organiser Victoria Armstrong said: ‘THANK YOU.

‘We have all learnt that sometimes there are no words.

‘The loss to the families, friends and our community is almost unbearable but what Mr Shearman has already gone through, and now faces is unimaginable.’

A family photo of Mrs Shearman with her two children 

Friends of the couple said they had been left ‘shellshocked’ by the tragedy  

Emergency services were called to the ‘well-established’ fire at a property on Brimscombe Hill, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, at about 3am on December 26

The money will be used for emergency accommodation, clothing, essentials, time taken away from work and ‘the many unexpected costs that arise during a period like this’, Victoria said.

Mrs Shearman, known by friends as Nu, was born in Cheltenham and ran a successful business making canvas and leather bags.

Earlier this month she announced that her workshop would be closing for the foreseeable future.

She was heavily into knitting, and some of her friends in the community shared heartbreaking tributes for her and her children online.

Carmen Schmidt, who runs an upmarket yarn wool shop in Bath, said, ‘We lost the brightest of lights’, in an emotional post to her 26,000 Instagram followers.

‘She was my best friend and there are no words for the devastation those close to her feel right now,’ Ms Schmidt wrote.

‘It was a catastrophic house fire that took Nu and her two children in the early hours of the morning. A tragic event with no earthy reason.

‘It goes without saying that this is unbelievably difficult to navigate, especially in a public online space. I’d like to crawl into a dark hole for a good while right now but that isn’t how we built our businesses and our lives. We built them out loud for all to see and so here I am.

Mrs Shearman took part in Ms Schmidt’s podcast and the pair travelled to craft fairs together

‘For now, please go hug your loved ones and tell the people in your life how much they mattered to you.

‘Nu was extremely good at this, she loved big and hard and I’m so grateful to have been in her orbit and I will miss her for a lifetime.’

Mrs Shearman also collaborated with knitting enthusiasts in America, which she visited to sell her specialist bags and accessories. 

One friend and colleague, Danielle Erterr, who runs a yarn shop in North Carolina, America, posted a picture of herself with Mrs Shearman alongside a tribute online.

She said: ‘I am at a loss for words after hearing about Nu and her children passing.

‘When we first started working together, I truly felt like a ‘fan girl’ getting to work with a rock star.

‘Through hours chatting about knitting, spinning, sewing, owning a small business while parenting and a whole lot more, our relationship grew and we became a lot closer.

‘We often shared words of encouragement with each other when we were struggling with the balancing act of being parents and small business owners.

Ms Erterr (pictured left) with Mrs Shearman. The knitting enthusiasts worked to create a custom bag together

‘I am going to deeply miss those conversations, and my heart genuinely goes out to Nu’s husband and both of their families.

‘I am so grateful to have been able to spend the time that I did have with Nu.’  

It was revealed that Mrs Shearman lost her own mother when she was just seven years old.

Mrs Shearman was also a keen runner, completing the Bath half marathon with her husband and raising money for Cancer research. 

On the fundraising page she wrote: ‘Running this for mum and for a better future for me, my kids, my incredible friends and everyone that’s been directly impacted by cancer.’

DS Fletcher said other members of the emergency services had witnessed the ‘anguish’ of Mr Shearman when he was unable to rescue his wife and children.

‘We are not treating this as a suspicious incident at this time,’ the senior officer added.

‘This would appear to be a tragic accident that’s occurred in the early hours of Boxing Day.

‘The surviving member of this family is a serving police officer at Gloucestershire Constabulary and again our hearts and prayers go out to him and all of his colleagues who know him very well.

‘He is working with us to try to understand what exactly has happened within that property.’

He added: ‘We have multiple witnesses who describe the anguish that he was going through, his inability to get in and save his children and save his wife.

‘He is, as you can imagine, in a very distraught way.’

Mrs Shearman’s body was found on Sunday and Ms Blyth confirmed today that the bodies of both children and that of the family dog had also now been recovered.