Government Minister Neletha Butterfield gave heartfelt thanks to her neighbours, family and friends yesterday after a fire at the weekend landed her son in hospital and destroyed her kitchen. The blaze, which started on Saturday afternoon, was put out by Ms Butterfield?s own firefighter nephew Michael Butterfield.

It started in a pan left on a stove and ripped through the kitchen, gutting the room and causing smoke damage to the rest of the Pembroke house.

Ms Butterfield was at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel awaiting the start of the Progressive Labour Party?s annual conference as the drama unfolded. She received a call from neighbour Judy Grimes at about 4.30 p.m. telling her that smoke was billowing out of the windows of her home.

Mrs. Grimes went into the house to help and took Ms Butterfield?s son MaClane, 38, to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for burns and smoke inhalation. He was released yesterday.

Ms Butterfield said the way people had rallied around to help was amazing, adding: ?I really want to thank my neighbours and friends for the way they worked together and the commitment they made to help me get through this.

?Mrs. Judy Grimes ? I just can?t thank her enough. She just went in to help and took my son to the hospital.?

She added: ?What was really touching is that the fireman that came is my nephew Michael Butterfield. Everybody just has been pulling out all the stops to help.?

Ms Butterfield lives in the house with her son and two grandchildren, 14-year-old Chantice Butterfield and 12-year-old Aquil Lambe, whom she is raising. She said her grandchildren rallied round to clean up the mess left after the fire and she received support from her other son and her brothers.

She said the cause of the fire was hot grease left by her son on a burning stove. The blaze meant Ms Butterfield, who is now looking for a temporary home for her family, had little time to consider whether she would have a place in Premier Ewart Brown?s new Cabinet.