An autistic man narrowly escaped a blaze that engulfed his home and destroyed all his possessions.
Josh-Paul Brown, 22, was in his static caravan next to his parents’ home in Nairn when the fire took hold yesterday morning.
His father raced from the family’s home when he spotted smoke pouring from beneath the locked property – in which his son, wearing headphones, had initially been oblivious to the blaze.
Josh-Paul, who has Asperger Syndrome, managed to unlock the door and was rescued moments before the flames spread.
He was uninjured but badly shaken and saddened that everything he owned, including the caravan he bought himself after years of saving his disability allowance to have a degree of independence, had been lost. The caravan was not insured.
The Nairn blaze, which erupted shortly before 11am, was thought to have been sparked by faulty underfloor electrics.
Fortunately, the power supply was linked to the house and tripped a blackout alerting his father.
Josh-Paul’s tearful mother Kim, 40, a singer with a local band, said: “Josh was really shaken. He was rooted to the spot, super stressed and upset.
“It all happened so quickly. If it had been even a minute longer, it’s just awful when you think what could have happened.”
His father Allen, a 54-year-old construction worker, said: “Had he been sleeping and we’d not seen it, I dread to think what would have happened.
“He’s a wreck, just counting how long it’ll take him to replace things. He’s calculated it would take him nine years of his disability allowance.”
The couple praised the professionalism of local firefighters. Using breathing apparatus, they used two hose-reel jets and a main water jet. The family’s own attempts to tackle the flames were hampered because a garden hose attachment was frozen.
Hundreds of pounds of online donations poured in within a few hours of the drama. Josh-Paul’s brother Allen wrote: “He has started working towards living independently.
“He filled the caravan with his worldly possessions of games, DVDs, games consoles, TV and all his necessities to make it a home from home where he felt safe and comfortable.
“We’re so thankful that he’s safe. However, he’s devastated that he’s lost so much.”
