Residents fled their homes without knowing the full scale of the blaze just a few feet from their doorsteps.
According to some, they did not realise there was a fire until they walked outside and were engulfed in huge clouds of black smoke.
People living in Girdleness Terrace were forced to escape through their back gardens and climb through a hole emergency services had cut into the fence.
They were then given shelter in the local community centre.
Angela Cheyne was one of the residents who was told she had to leave her home for her own safety.
She said: “I just heard the police knocking on the door – it was quite scary.
“I didn’t see any flames when I first went out but I saw the smoke and there was a horrible smell.
“I remember hearing fire engines and when I went outside you could hear the popping and could see flames over the hedge.
“We were taken to the community centre. There were people coughing because they had asthma and had inhaled all the smoke.”
Volunteers at the community centre handed out food to people and also inflated a bouncy castle for children to play on.
Rosie Shirran, a member of the centre committee, was evacuated from her home in Kirkhill Road.
She said: “All you could see was black smoke at first and then, when we came out of the house we saw the flames.
“It was quite scary – I’ve never seen anything like it before.
“It was a brilliant atmosphere in the community centre, everyone was in good spirits.”
When they were allowed to return to their homes, residents received bags of food donations which were provided by Arnold Clark and distributed to the affected properties.