THE QUICK REACTION of firefighters was being praised last night by an elderly Elgin couple who thought they had water coming through their roof – only to discover it was on fire.
Fire crews from Elgin and Fochabers were on the scene within ten minutes when Robbie and Maureen Hunt realised that their home in Blantyre Place was ablaze.
Mrs Hunt, 80, said that she had noted a fault with her shower but had not thought anything more about it other than to tell her husband they perhaps required a new fuse. Mr Hunt then notice what he thought was water coming through the ceiling – before realising it was actually a fire.
After dialling 999 at around 9.45am on Thursday morning they only had to wait a little over five minutes before firefighters arrived on the scene. Mrs Hunt told the P&J: “They worked right along the roof and they took the roof off next door and everything because of the smoke coming out.
“They checked everything very thoroughly and I’m very pleased how they worked.”
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service watch manager James Kilpatrick said that the fire had been reported in the loft turned out to be wiring overheating in the roof.
He added: “The fire was isolated and crews then cleared out to check everything – but the fire was put out and there was not fear of it restarting.” There were no injuries from the incident.