By Heather Pickstock
Bristol Evening Post
ENGLAND — When Julia Sbardella called the fire brigade after a chip pan fire at home, the last thing she expected was to find herself a husband.
Julia Sbardella, 45, called the fire brigade after her chip pan caught fire when she was cooking her family supper at home at Brookfield Walk, Clevedon, on May 14, 1998.
Julia, 45, left the pan unattended when she went to answer the phone and when she came back the kitchen was on fire, with the flames from the pan reaching up to the ceiling.
Without thinking, Julia panicked and picked up the pan and threw it into the back garden — causing herself severe burns to her left hand.
Her son, Alexander, then six-years-old, called the emergency services, dialling 666 a number of times before realising it was 999.
When crews from Clevedon Fire Station arrived — including retained firefighter Rod Rodwell wearing full breathing apparatus — Julia was so pleased to see help, she threw her arms around him.
Rod, who was on the scene within minutes, said: “Julia just threw her arms around me in relief.
“She was very distressed and had massive, third-degree burns, so I administered first-aid while my colleagues looked after Alexander and her baby daughter, Annabel.
“I don’t know what it was about that day as I have attended lots of fires and dealt with lots of people, but something just clicked between us.”
Julia was taken to hospital for treatment for her burns.
Rod, who worked as a retained fire firefighter from 1995 to 2000, returned to the station but continued to worry how Julia would cope caring for her children with a badly injured hand.
Rod, who now works as a train driver, said: “I decided to pop round to see how Julia was and to ask whether she needed a hand in redecorating the kitchen, which had been left with black walls from the fire.
“We enjoyed a cup of tea and a chat before going our separate ways.”
The couple continued bumping into each other in Clevedon, stopping to chat, before Rod eventually plucked up the courage to ask her out on a date.
The pair, who now live in Wraxall, dated for 13 years, caring for children Alexandra, now 20, and Annabel, 14, before deciding to tie the knot on July 13.
Rod, 46, got down on one knee at home last June, presenting Julia with a sparkling ring.
Julia, who works as a sales assistant, said: “The last thing I thought when I set my kitchen on fire was that I would find myself a husband.”
The pair said “I do” at a ceremony Rookery Manor, Edingworth near Weston-super-Mare in front of family and friends.
Julia, 45, whose late father Giorgio Sbardella was an entertainer and mum Margaret was a Bluebell Girl, arrived for the wedding ceremony in a vintage car and she was given away by her son Alexander, now aged 20.
Julia wore a Maggie Sottero gown with diamante in her hair and carried a bouquet of white lilies and purple fuchsias and was attended by daughter Annabel and Rods daughter Sharni, 16, and a friends’ daughter, Jessica Avery, 14, who all wore short, purple dresses and carried small versions of the bridal bouquet.
The flowergirls were Julia’s nieces Lydia and Katie Scanland, aged 10 and seven. Spanish guitarist Hugh McDonald played as the couple signed the register before they enjoyed a reception for 40 guests under the starlit ceiling of the Desborough Suite, Rookery Manor.
Julia surprised Rod with a wedding cake designed in the shape of flames around a model fire engine, complete with a miniature bride and groom perched on top.
The couple jetted off for a honeymoon in Hawaii where they enjoyed a helicopter flight around the islands.
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