The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Couple escape blaze with cats as cottage left a blackened shell
FIRE: Occupants of 150-year-old property unhurt after moving into Alyth home just a few months before devastating inferno
A couple had a lucky escape when their 150-year-old cottage went up in flames.
The two-bedroom bungalow at Alyth was left a blackened shell after the blaze on Thursday night.
Four teams of firefighters battled the inferno into the early hours of the morning.
The middle-aged couple, who had moved into the Albert Street property just months earlier, managed to get out unharmed.
With the help of neighbours they were able to find their two missing cats, which escaped when the fire broke.
Residents nearby said the owner of the cottage had gone out to collect a takeaway meal and came back minutes later to find his home ablaze. The fire destroyed most of the roof and shattered windows.
The couple were said to be recovering with friends.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said: “We were alerted to reports of a house fire in Alyth just before 9.30pm on Thursday.
“Four appliances were mobilised to the town’s Albert Street, where firefighters were met by a welldeveloped fire within a single-storey property.”
Crews used breathing apparatus, a hose reel jet and a 45ft ladder to tackle the flames. The fire was brought under control at around 1.20am.
The spokeswoman confirmed there were no casualties.
Fire chiefs were back on the scene later yesterday morning as an investigation into the cause of the blaze got under way.
One neighbour said: “It’s such a shame for them. They only moved in a few months ago and they had been renovating the property. Now, all that hard work has gone up in smoke. “They both managed to get out okay.” A Police Scotland spokesman added: “Police were called around 9.30pm to assist the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, however the fire was deemed not to be suspicious.”
The cottage, near the town hall, was built in 1868 and had been sitting empty for several years.
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Four appliances were mobilised to the town’s Albert Street.
FIRE AND RESCUE SPOKESWOMAN