'My first thought was I hope my neighbour is OK - then we lost everything'
20.10.2023 - 16:33
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A student watched on as flamed ripped through her home from a neighbour's property. Abbie Smithson, from Haslingden near Bury, saw smoke coming into the house she was living in with three other students at St Andrew’s University, in Scotland.
The ferocious blaze shattered the homes windows, trashed its roof and damaged the housemates' belongings, Lancs Live reports. Abbie said: “My first thought when I saw the smoke was I hope my next door neighbour is okay and when we saw the flames we were concerned about her and it spreading to our property, but I never thought it would spread so quickly and that badly.
“When we stood outside the house the fire continued and we lost hope of saving anything. We lost everything. Clothes, kitchen utensils, important documents, shoes, appliances. It is an important year academically for us too.”
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The former Haslingden High School student managed to escape the semi-detached house with her housemates, Olivia Frankland and Hannah Craggs. Their other housemate, Yuqing Lu (Stella), was at the library at the time of the incident last Friday afternoon (October 13).
Their neighbour also got out of her property unharmed. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has confirmed there were no reported casualties. Crews began to arrive at 4.20pm and remained in attendance for six hours.
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Firefighters tackled the blaze that had engulfed the neighbouring houses in the Canongate area of the Fife town. Both properties have been left in ruins.
The roof has completely collapsed into