A Fife community has rallied in support of a local family whose home was devastated by fire just a week before Christmas.
Maureen Kelly, her 14-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter managed to escape from their burning property in Rosyth’s Hudson Road unhurt on Friday morning.
It’s understood husband Mick had already left for work by the time the blaze erupted.
Mr Kelly returned to assess the full extent of the damage last night. He confirmed none of his family had been harmed but declined to comment further.
Neighbour Amy Whyte said she woke to find smoke billowing from the property.
“It was difficult to see anything at first as the area was covered in a thick fog-like smoke,” she said.
“Then I saw the torches of the firefighters forcing their way into the house.
“A short time later flames were visible from the roof and it took the fire crews a good while to tackle the fire.
“I’m just glad people managed to get out without being hurt.”
Another neighbour Kerry Condie was one of dozens of people who took to social media offering to help.
“I live across the road and it was heartbreaking to watch,” she said.
“My heart goes out to the whole family.”
A GoFundMe page was set up to collect cash for the family, and had amassed £2,500 in donations by late afternoon.
Offers of clothes, blankets, Christmas presents, food parcels and even furniture also poured in.
The fire, which is thought to have started in the bathroom before spreading to the roof space, was reported shortly before 8am.
More than 20 firefighters with seven fire appliances tackled the blaze at its height, taking two hours to bring it under control.
A cordon was set up to make sure the area was safe as emergency services set to work.
Two fire engines from Dunfermline were initially requested, before crews called in two further pumps from Lochgelly and a height appliance.
Firefighters were able to leave the scene shortly after 10am.
Witnesses said the roof had “pretty much gone” on the property, and there was fire, smoke and water damage in many other rooms.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said no-one was injured and everyone had been accounted for.
