The Smithy Family/TikTok
- The fire brigade was called to the London home of the TikTok-famous Smith family on Wednesday.
- Father Nick Smith said the fire was started by arsonists after the family's address was leaked.
- Police are investigating the cause of the fire, which destroyed the family's car and house exterior.
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Nick Smith, who runs the hugely popular family TikTok account @smithyfamily, has spoken out about the fire that set ablaze his home and vehicles earlier this week.
When a fire broke out outside the family's home on Wednesday July 14, images circulated on social media. Smith, who previously worked as a builder before finding TikTok fame, later posted a TikTok showing fire engines at the property.
"I'm doing this video because people have already uploaded videos of the fire," he said. "We all got out of the house OK. Kids are fine, me and Jess are fine and the dogs are OK. The house ain't OK."
He also said in the video that his partner Jess and their three children – Isabella, nine, Amelia, six, and their newborn son – were temporarily living separately to him in an undisclosed "safe place."
Smith alleged that the fire was a result of an arson attack that followed the family being trolled online after shooting to fame on TikTok for posting comedic videos during the pandemic. They currently have over 2 million followers, and Smith has said they were recently doxxed - a practice whereby an individual's personal information is leaked online. The BBC has reported that police are investigating the cause of the fire.
Smith said in the video, "To the two people who done this. You could've killed our family. And not only our family but our neighbours, my friends. It's unforgivable."
Since the fire, Smith has posted TikToks detailing the damage done to the property as well as purported footage of his daughters' bedroom, where he says they were sleeping while the fire took place.
"My girls were in this room, but that don't matter to you do it?" he said in the TikTok.
On Friday July 16, Smith posted a video to the Smithy Family Facebook page featuring purported CCTV footage from the night of the fire, and urged his followers to share it in order to help identify the individuals. "I'm showing the footage because what we've had to go through is unreal," Smith said.
On Wednesday, London Fire Bridgade sub officer Tim Sammons told the Evening Standard, "We were called to reports of a car alight that had spread up the outside of the house. There were a number of mobility scooters parked outside which had caught alight and were producing a large amount of smoke and flames. Everyone was out of the building before we arrived, and crews worked incredibly hard to prevent further damage to the inside of the property and to neighbouring properties. Our fire investigation dogs also attended to help identify any ignitable substances present."
The force also confirmed to the Standard that the fire had destroyed the Smith family's car and five mobility scooters, and guttered the exterior of their family home.
For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.