Teens praised for actions after fire breaks out in Kirkcaldy

Fire which started in a garden shed in Morven Grove, Kirkcaldy, quickly spread to a nearby fence which was pulled down by a group of passing teenagers to stop it spreading to nearby flats

The boys stepped in to help when they spotted a blaze, which had started in a garden shed in Morven Grove, spreading along a wooden fence and heading towards the flats during the early hours of Sunday morning.

Along with passer-by David Clark (31), who was on his way home from a friend’s house, the boys, who have been named as Joe Lafferty, Dylan Hemsley, Kyle Macrae, Logan Hancock, Peter Wilson, Stewart Watson and Josh Rose, chopped down part of the fence to prevent the fire from spreading towards the houses before dousing the flames with buckets of water and a garden hose.

Their actions were praised by Mr Clark who said they had helped to save the property and the women and children living there.

He said: “A group of teenagers had gathered to investigate. The fire was intense, burning right through a garden shed and making its way along the wooden fence towards the houses.

“A small group made their way between the houses to the back garden putting their own safety at risk to help.

“I passed two women coming out of the connecting houses screaming and crying, one holding a toddler the other a young baby.

“I reassured them that the fire brigade had been called and they were on there way.

I made my way to the back garden to see what could be done to prevent the fire spreading to the houses. At this point the fire had increased in a matter of only a few minutes.

“The shed no longer resembled a shed and the fire had spread so quickly that there was only about six foot of fence before it hit the house.”

Mr Clark said they grabbed tools from a neighbour’s shed.

“One boy had a saw and I grabbed an axe. We took the fence down in a matter of minutes. The heat was incredibly intense at this point. With a few pulls back a forth and a flying shoulder the fence was down.”

They then doused the fence with water to prevent it spreading.

“I don’t know what caused the fire, but what I do know is that a group of teenagers came together and worked as a team to help complete strangers when they were in need.”