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| Starting from scratch | Starting from scratch |
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| By Raffi Berg BBC News The back-to-front L of bricks (centre top) was once Tamy's bedroom window | By Raffi Berg BBC News The back-to-front L of bricks (centre top) was once Tamy's bedroom window |
| In February, London's landmark Camden Market was ravaged by fire. Freelance photographer Tamy Dahan lost everything - including her camera and all her pictures. | In February, London's landmark Camden Market was ravaged by fire. Freelance photographer Tamy Dahan lost everything - including her camera and all her pictures. |
| Standing on the kerb in Camden High Street, Tamy Dahan gazes incredulously at the charred blue and pink facade of G-Heaven, the edgy clothing store above which she used to live. | Standing on the kerb in Camden High Street, Tamy Dahan gazes incredulously at the charred blue and pink facade of G-Heaven, the edgy clothing store above which she used to live. |
| "See where the bricks form an L-shape?" she asks, pointing towards the remains of a wall at the rear. "That was my bedroom window. Now that is all that is left. Everything is gone." | "See where the bricks form an L-shape?" she asks, pointing towards the remains of a wall at the rear. "That was my bedroom window. Now that is all that is left. Everything is gone." |
| Six months ago, Tamy, an Israeli freelance photographer, was living and working in Camden, home to the largest street market in the country and London's world-famous sub-culture capital. | Six months ago, Tamy, an Israeli freelance photographer, was living and working in Camden, home to the largest street market in the country and London's world-famous sub-culture capital. |
| Like thousands of other residents, she says she was drawn by "its unique vibe and environment", where mainstream and fringe merge among a cluster of stores and stalls catering for eclectic tastes. | Like thousands of other residents, she says she was drawn by "its unique vibe and environment", where mainstream and fringe merge among a cluster of stores and stalls catering for eclectic tastes. |
| It provides inspiration for those like Tamy whose livelihoods are in the creative arts, and a peaceful life in sharp contrast to her home town of Sderot, traumatised by years of missile-fire from the Gaza Strip. | It provides inspiration for those like Tamy whose livelihoods are in the creative arts, and a peaceful life in sharp contrast to her home town of Sderot, traumatised by years of missile-fire from the Gaza Strip. |
| Worry and panic | Worry and panic |
| The youngest of five children, Tamy moved to London in 2006, to live contentedly in a rented three-bedroom flat with her boyfriend and a flatmate. Until the night of Saturday, 9 February.Firefighters dowse flames at the Hawley Arms - Amy Winehouse's local - with G-Heaven on the right | The youngest of five children, Tamy moved to London in 2006, to live contentedly in a rented three-bedroom flat with her boyfriend and a flatmate. Until the night of Saturday, 9 February.Firefighters dowse flames at the Hawley Arms - Amy Winehouse's local - with G-Heaven on the right |
| "We were in the flat when we heard a fire alarm, but we didn't take much notice at first." | "We were in the flat when we heard a fire alarm, but we didn't take much notice at first." |
| When the trio went outside they saw smoke, but no flames. However the fire-fighters already on the scene would not let them back inside. "It was the middle of winter and freezing, and I didn't even have a coat." | When the trio went outside they saw smoke, but no flames. However the fire-fighters already on the scene would not let them back inside. "It was the middle of winter and freezing, and I didn't even have a coat." |
| They were ushered into the famous Hawley Arms pub next door, where the atmosphere was jovial - "people were cheering and making jokes about the situation" - but then flames appeared near her home. | They were ushered into the famous Hawley Arms pub next door, where the atmosphere was jovial - "people were cheering and making jokes about the situation" - but then flames appeared near her home. |
| Some 6,000 photographs - professional and personal - were inside, digital images, prints and back-ups. "I had everything inside and I started to panic. My clothes were replaceable but not my pictures." | Some 6,000 photographs - professional and personal - were inside, digital images, prints and back-ups. "I had everything inside and I started to panic. My clothes were replaceable but not my pictures." |
| Only six months previously, Tamy had brought back her last remaining photos from Sderot - including treasured pictures of her father, who had recently passed away. | Only six months previously, Tamy had brought back her last remaining photos from Sderot - including treasured pictures of her father, who had recently passed away. |
| "I was desperate to get them," she says, fighting back tears. "I was running round screaming 'my house! my house!' but there was nothing I could do." | "I was desperate to get them," she says, fighting back tears. "I was running round screaming 'my house! my house!' but there was nothing I could do." |
| Shirt on her back | Shirt on her back |
| Four hours after the fire began, the building - a former wooden stables - was consumed by flames.Tamy's flat in flames | Four hours after the fire began, the building - a former wooden stables - was consumed by flames.Tamy's flat in flames |
| All of Tamy's worldly possessions, including her photographs, camera, accessories, passport and credit cards, had been reduced to cinders. And none of it was insured. "All I had left was the skirt and shirt I was wearing. I just felt numb." | All of Tamy's worldly possessions, including her photographs, camera, accessories, passport and credit cards, had been reduced to cinders. And none of it was insured. "All I had left was the skirt and shirt I was wearing. I just felt numb." |
| The fire ripped through a swathe of shops, dwellings and market traders' stands but remarkably caused no casualties. | The fire ripped through a swathe of shops, dwellings and market traders' stands but remarkably caused no casualties. |
| Tamy spent the remainder of the night at a friend's flat in nearby Hampstead, but she has only hazy memories of the ensuing days. | Tamy spent the remainder of the night at a friend's flat in nearby Hampstead, but she has only hazy memories of the ensuing days. |
| For a time she was effectively rendered a non-person, with no proof of identity and no trace of her past. | |
| "In Sderot, you live in constant fear of losing everything if a bomb falls on your house. Then you go away from that and you come here and then this happens. It's ironic." | "In Sderot, you live in constant fear of losing everything if a bomb falls on your house. Then you go away from that and you come here and then this happens. It's ironic." |
| Acts of kindness | Acts of kindness |
| As news of her plight spread, Tamy became inundated with offers of help. I can't get over losing my pictures, especially those of my father | As news of her plight spread, Tamy became inundated with offers of help. I can't get over losing my pictures, especially those of my father |
| "You're in a state of shock, you don't know how you're going to get things, then people around you start to give. On the night it happened, someone I didn't know, a Japanese guy, gave me his coat. | "You're in a state of shock, you don't know how you're going to get things, then people around you start to give. On the night it happened, someone I didn't know, a Japanese guy, gave me his coat. |
| "Later, people I didn't know offered me clothes, make-up, places to stay and even money. I got a lot of anonymous donations." | "Later, people I didn't know offered me clothes, make-up, places to stay and even money. I got a lot of anonymous donations." |
| Strangers set up an appeal for Tamy on Facebook, and after a month she received about £3,000 in compensation from the local authority. | Strangers set up an appeal for Tamy on Facebook, and after a month she received about £3,000 in compensation from the local authority. |
| Yet the hardest losses are the most personal and irreplaceable. Having never uploaded her images, she has no virtual copies to fall back on. "I can't get over losing my pictures, especially those of my father. They were like my foundations." | Yet the hardest losses are the most personal and irreplaceable. Having never uploaded her images, she has no virtual copies to fall back on. "I can't get over losing my pictures, especially those of my father. They were like my foundations." |
| After living with her boyfriend's parents, Tamy has recently moved back to Camden. But it's only with the recent purchase of a new professional camera that she feels she's getting back on her feet. | After living with her boyfriend's parents, Tamy has recently moved back to Camden. But it's only with the recent purchase of a new professional camera that she feels she's getting back on her feet. |
| "Even now, what happened feels like a bad dream you think you're going to wake up from. Not having anything is not something a lot of people experience. In a way, it's like a fresh start, but it's been a long transition." | "Even now, what happened feels like a bad dream you think you're going to wake up from. Not having anything is not something a lot of people experience. In a way, it's like a fresh start, but it's been a long transition." |