An Aberdeenshire man has spoken of his fight against a huge blaze which ruined thousands of pounds worth of possessions and threatened his home.
Gary Simpson said he was alerted to the fire which started in the garage of his property on Ellon’s Esslemont Estate by the sound of small explosions.
Initially, he thought they were the cracks of gunshots from hunters on the grounds, but the flames soon neared the walls of his cottage, despatching smoke into his living room.
His caravan, his “pride and joy” Yamaha trike, his grandchildren’s mountain bikes and 400 CDs were all lost amidst the conflagration.
Mr Simpson burned his hands and was treated for smoke inhalation as he fought to stop the fire from consuming his home – while his wife, Donna, and granddaughter looked on.
The garage was made of wood, while the fire consumed a newly-refilled boiler, containing 1,200l of oil, which fuelled Mr Simpson’s home.
He said: “It was a big fire, we were in the house and we thought it was shooters, because this is a hunting grounds.
“We heard a couple of ‘pow, pows’ and saw the smoke coming past my window. I thought my neighbour’s chimney had gone on fire.
“My trike, my caravan, the mountain bikes, BBQ gear, all the Christmas decorations – they are all gone. We have lost a lot. I burnt my hand trying to get into the shed. I was trying to get my trike out.
“There was nothing I could do. I collapsed over at the corner of the garden and said: ‘I’m just tired’.
“If it wasn’t so windy, it wouldn’t have been so bad. The living room was full of smoke.”
He added that the cause of the blaze was still unknown.
Several of the windows at his cottage have been lost, with the floor of one of his rooms also damaged by oil.
Mr Simpson added: “Everyone is safe. Things can be replaced. That is life, you just have to get on with it; you can’t dwell on it.”
The fire broke out at 6pm on Saturday before being extinguished shortly before 9pm.
Two fire appliances from Ellon, along with ones from Oldmeldrum and Maud, dealt with the blaze.
A water carrier from Turriff and an incident support vehicle from Dyce were also called to the incident.
