Kinross residents have told how they watched flames ‘swirling like a fireball’ as a house went alight.
People living in Smith Street watched in horror as the fire broke out around noon on Saturday.
Five fire crews, from Lochgelly, Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy, spent three hours tackling the blaze.
It is understood nobody was injured in the fire which but the house was severely damaged as the roof collapsed.
One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “We were in our living room having a coffee and saw this puff of smoke, we thought it was mist coming down at first.
“Then we realised it was smoke and thought it was our garage on fire but it wasn’t.
“The smoke was billowing. We couldn’t see out of our window.
“The flames were a fireball inside the roof and swirling round.
“We could see the ridge of the roof sinking down too.”
She added: “Thankfully it wasn’t windy so the fire didn’t spread any further.
“There were five appliances – two at the front, two at the back – and a height appliance in the tip, which closed, cos they were worried of it spreading there.
“The fire service were on the ball and had it all under control.
“We really feel for the family. It’s going to take a lot of work to fix it but I’m glad they’re okay.”
Another said: “I thought it was fog and then the next thing we saw it was on fire.
“Thankfully everyone got out okay.
“You don’t expect these things to happen near you.
“Hopefully they can investigate and find out how it started.”
A spokeswoman for Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “Five appliances were called to a property in Kinross.
“Crews used two hose reel jets, an aerial ladder platform and a thermal imaging camera.
“We received the stop message at 3.34pm.”
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