A COUNCILLOR and his family were forced to flee their home yesterday when flames tore through its upper floor.

Comrie representative Colin Crabbie and wife Elizabeth woke to find smoke filling their bedroom.

Flames were beginning to engulf the curtains as fire spread from the roof-space of their former farmhouse, which is around a mile-and-a-half north of Comrie.

The councillor was forced to pick through the wreckage of the family home to salvage what possessions had not been destroyed.

The couple were the only people in the house and were outside before the emergency services arrived.

A shocked Dr Elizabeth Crabbie said yesterday, “We were very lucky to get out of the house.

“I just woke up and the top of the curtain was on fire.

“I could hear crackling coming from the roof, which we could see was well alight when we got outside.

“It has been such dry weather.”

Dr Crabbie added, “It’s been a bit of a shock, but we are hoping to rebuild and get back into it at some point.”

The roof was completely destroyed, with slates shed and timbers wrecked.

The councillor’s wife said the downstairs ceilings were also sagging as a result of the water used to fight the fire.

However, she paid tribute to the Tayside Fire and Rescue crews who battled the fire.

She said, “The firefighters were very good and removed several pictures to ensure they were not fire-damaged.

“They were also able to cover some of the furniture with tarpaulins.”

Emergency services rushed to Balmuick shortly before 1pm.

They found the roof of the remote two-storey property engulfed.

The presence of fire crews from Comrie, Crieff, Auchterarder and Perth was evidence of the seriousness of the fire.

Firefighters worked on the blaze until around 6pm, remaining for two further hours to dampen down.

No one was injured.

One cat remains unaccounted for, but Dr Crabbie believes it was outside and will be found safe.

The family are staying with neighbours as they come to terms with the damage wrought by the fire.