Two Angus youngsters were the heroes of the hour when they alerted their mum to a potentially devastating fire in their home just seconds before the family was set to leave the house.
Fiona Smith (40) said she “dreaded to think” what would have happened had her son Skene (10) and daughter Chloe (13) not spotted the blaze in the utility room of their Cortachy cottage before they went shopping in Kirriemuir around lunchtime on Thursday.
The pair, along with Chloe’s friend Talitha Allan (13), raised the alarm and Fiona was able to get them plus little sister Ailie (8) and her friend Katie MacDonald (7) out of the property before the fire started to spread. Thankfully, the family’s beloved dog Ollie was also unhurt.
Fiona said, “My first thought was just to get all of the kids out because it would be your worst nightmare if anything happened to any of them.
“I’m just so grateful that they noticed the fire it doesn’t bear thinking about what would have happened if we had gone out and we hadn’t realised.
“It wasn’t a very good moment we rang the fire brigade straight away and they said they’d be there in minutes but it felt like hours. I could hear the sirens as they drove down the road from Kirriemuir, and even though they weren’t that long I just thought they would never get here.”
Crews from Kirriemuir and Forfar raced to the blaze which broke out around 1.15pm and firefighters extinguished the flames.
Skene, a pupil at Airlie Primary School, admitted the episode was all “really quite scary.”
He went on, “We were standing in the kitchen next to the utility room and my sister and her friend noticed that there was smoke coming from somewhere.
“We opened the door and we could just see flames and we had to get my mum to phone the fire brigade she was really surprised and panicking a bit but I think she was really glad we noticed.
“At first I was really scared that Ollie was still in the utility room but he was outside running around, which was a relief. He did try to go back in but I think he was smart enough and turned back when he realised what was going on.”
Fraser MacDonald, station manager with Tayside Fire and Rescue, attended the fire and said it highlighted the dangers attached to electrical appliances.
He added, “If anybody is going to leave a tumble drier or washing machine unattended then they should make sure it is switched off as some materials can easily overheat.
“People should also make sure they have working smoke detectors operating in their homes.”