A devastated Edinburgh couple have told how they “lost everything” in a flat fire that destroyed all their possessions just two weeks before they were set to move house.
Speaking exclusively to Edinburgh Live , Andreia Pereira and Miguel Santos returned to the scene on Thursday, looking up at their home which now lies in ruins.
The blaze, which engulfed a block of flats on Craigievar House on Craigmount Brae for several hours on Wednesday, started just a few doors down from the horrified couple.
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They say the fire went up in seconds, with Andreia frantically rushing out of their top-floor flat - only having enough time to grab her two cats and scream to alert the neighbours of the danger.
Meanwhile, Miguel – who is a cabin manager for easyJet – was almost 1500 miles away, about to depart on a flight from Madrid when his partner phoned to tell him their home was up in flames.
The couple say that many prized possessions have been lost - including photos, GoPros, biking jackets and guitars. Miguel’s own music, having created albums in his spare time as a keen musician, have also gone up in smoke.
Once Andreia managed to get to safety while alerting her grateful neighbours to the danger, they hung around the Mid Yoken pub – which took in distressed residents on Monday night. The couple eventually stayed at their friend’s house but are now left unsure of what the future holds with their possessions gone.
Andreia, 40, told Edinburgh Live : “I was just at home when I suddenly realised that the fire was a few doors down. I didn’t have time to think. All I could do was grab my two cats and run outside. I was banging on the neighbours’ doors, completely screaming. I even forgot the number to call the fire brigade, I had to shout at other people to do it for me. It was so scary.”
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is currently not letting any residents enter the premises to check their belongings - with the blaze still smouldering in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Miguel, 39, said: “We’ve lost everything. All of our stuff is gone. If you look through our flat at one side, you can see the sky out the other. It’s completely destroyed.
“So many things have been lost. I love to make music and I had all my old albums that I’ve made up there. I had back-ups, but they were up there too. It’s stuff we can never get back. We’re moving house in two weeks and we’ve got nothing to move in with.
“We don’t know when we’ll be able to check. They said they’ll let us know when we can, but we already know there’s nothing left. Maybe a couple of little things have survived, but we don’t have much hope.”
The blaze broke out on the couple’s floor just after 3pm on Monday afternoon, with firefighters and police racing to the scene. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed that two people were passed on to the Scottish Ambulance Service to be treated for their injuries, with all residents now thankfully accounted for.
Andreia said: “The fire brigade did get here really quickly and I’m glad they got everyone out in time. At least everyone is okay. I just can’t believe how quickly it went up. It really was a matter of seconds and everything was just fire and smoke. It was total panic.”
Being so far away made the situation difficult for Miguel as he desperately rushed back to Edinburgh to be with his girlfriend of 15 years.
He added: “I just got a call before we were about to board and it was Andreia, I asked if everything was okay and she told me it really wasn’t. It was hard being so far away and feeling helpless, like I couldn’t do anything. I told the captain to get the foot down, I needed to get home.”
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