Hero Scots dad saves elderly woman and her daughter from horror house fire
25.04.2023 - 07:55
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
A heroic dad-of-four ran into a burning building to help save a Scots gran after her house went up in flames. Dean Clark was on his way to work on Monday, April 24, when he saw smoke pouring into the sky from a nearby property.
The 35-year-old went into "autopilot" and immediately rushed over to the home on Niddrie Farm Grove, Edinburgh, where he found 85-year-old Margaret Burstow and her daughter Helen Knight, 59, trapped inside.
He jumped over the garden fence and saw Helen standing at the back door, reports Edinburgh Live. After making sure she was safe, Dean rushed back into the property for Margaret, who struggles with mobility issues due to poor health.
Dean, who is the manager of a local Co-op store, said: “I don’t know what happened. I went into autopilot and I guess adrenaline just took over. It was all about trying to get them out as quickly as I could because the fire was bad, the whole doorway was up in flames.
“As I was leaving the living room I could see the whole home filled with black smoke and parts of the flaming doorway were falling onto the carpet - it was absolutely boiling."
Thankfully, Dean was able to find Margaret and help her escape the blaze, before placing her in the care of a neighbour. The gran had recently suffered a cardiac arrest and her two daughters, Helen and Mary Thomson, had been regularly staying at her home to help care for her. At the time of the fire, Helen was sleeping on a blow up mattress.
Mary's daughter Margaret Auld, who is named after her granny, says the family are so grateful for Dean’s courageous actions and dreads to think what would have happened if he hadn't spotted the fire.
The 38-year-old said: “God knows what would have happened if he had not been here. When Dean got