A Dundee couple were “extremely lucky to have survived” after their Lochee home was swamped by toxic smoke following a blaze, a senior fire officer has said.
Paul Markie and his wife Jacqueline were rushed to hospital when the fire broke out in the bedroom of their two-storey semi-detached home in Eastwell Road just after 7.30pm on Saturday.
Station manager Mark Crush, in charge of the operation, said, “The occupants were extremely lucky to have survived given that both smoke alarms had been disconnected.
“The fire destroyed most of the bed and caused significant heat damage to the contents of the room. However, further damage was caused by the thick, toxic smoke, which quickly spread throughout the house.”
The couple had disconnected the alarms because they kept going off for no reason and were intending to replace them.
Mr Crush added, “This should serve as a reminder to all householders that they must have a working smoke alarm.”
The blaze is believed to have started beside the bed, igniting the mattress, causing significant heat damage and creating thick choking smoke.
The couple relived their lucky escape. Salesman Mr Markie (45) had just settled into the bath when the fire began, while Mrs Markie (44) was preparing to start her new nightshift job as a social carer.
Mr Markie said, “My wife came into the bathroom to talk to me and after about five minutes she asked if I had something cooking, because there was smoke coming from somewhere.
“I jumped out the bath and started having a look round and it wasn’t long before I realised the smoke was coming from our room.”
The couple’s sons Liam (20) and Paul (22) were both out, so Mrs Markie ran downstairs to call emergency services, while Mr Markie stayed upstairs and tried to tackle the flames.’Losing battle’He said, “The smoke was thick and very bad and I knew I was fighting a losing battle, so I put a towel to my face and made for the door.”
Firefighters gave Mr Markie something to cover himself as he had not had time to dress. He and his wife were then taken by ambulance to Ninewells Hospital for smoke inhalation treatment.
Mr Markie said, “They were looking at my throat, because it was red and it had soot in it. They also gave us oxygen. Jacqueline was OK. We got away home after about three hours.”
The couple were eager to let their sons and family know they were all right, as a large crowd had gathered outside their home.
“We were worried people would be spreading rumours about us being dead because they’d seen us go off in the ambulance,” Mr Markie said.
The couple still aren’t sure what started the fire.
Mrs Markie was smoking a cigarette at the time but the flames appeared to originate from beneath the mattress, close to where her new mobile phone had been charging.
The couple and their sons were surveyed the extent of the damage, mostly a result of the thick smoke. A number of family members were assisting with the tidy-up.
Mrs Markie said, “I was getting ready to start my new job, Paul was in the bath. Everything that could have possibly gone wrong went wrong, but the main thing is we’re still here, and that’s what’s most important.”
Firefighters visited neighbouring properties on Sunday to ask if residents were experiencing similar issues with their smoke alarms.