Frightened householders have told of their fears when they were evacuated from their homes when gas began leaking during a fire in St Andrews.
Monday night’s blaze engulfed a domestic fence and melted gas pipes between two houses in Churchill Crescent.
Firefighters quickly shifted residents out and carried out emergency procedures to prevent the gas igniting and causing disaster. Gas engineers arrived on the scene shortly afterwards and cut off the supply.
One of the two houses where the fire broke out is vacant but students Zoe Mackie and Florence Carr (both 20) were at home in the other, spotted the blaze and raised the alarm just before 9pm.
Zoe told The Courier: “My housemate was in her room and saw flames outside. It was lucky she saw it on time. I was writing an essay and she came running downstairs, shouting that the place was on fire.”
Her fears mounted when she then noticed the smell of gas.
She added: “The police and two fire engines came out. Our house and another student house were evacuated to the corner, then they decided the smell of gas was too strong and they started evacuating the whole street.”
Residents were offered shelter in nearby St Andrews Police Station until they were cleared to return home at around 11.30pm.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service station manager Tom Fox said people were told to leave their homes as a precautionary measure.
He said: “The radiant heat from the flames affected the service pipes for the two properties. Because the pipes melted there was a gas leak, so we evacuated everyone from the immediate area.
“We made the scene safe until Scotland Gas Networks came and isolated the leak. The measures we took were to prevent the gas igniting.”
Scotland Gas Networks said that both the pipes and two gas meters were damaged but engineers promptly cut off the supply.
Spokeswoman Claire Buchanan said: “We were called to properties in Churchill Crescent, St Andrews, by the fire brigade who were dealing with a fire there.
“We attended quickly and made the situation safe by cutting off the gas supply.
“We are renewing the service pipes to the properties affected by the fire, while the external gas meters at these properties will also be replaced.”
Police Scotland said the fire was not being treated as suspicious.