AN OAKLEY woman whose two sons were killed in a house fire 27 years ago has now lost her partner in a second blaze.

Eckhardt Morhulec, aged 60, died as a fire ripped through 8 Thorn Tree Place early on Saturday morning.

His partner, Sharon Comiskey, is currently at Victoria Hospital in a "critical condition".

It's the second tragedy to hit the family after the couple's two sons, aged one and four, were killed in a similar house fire just a short distance away in 1992, along with their grandmother.

Tributes have poured in for 'Eck', who has been described by everyone who knew him as a "gentleman".

Neighbour John Cassells believes he was the last person to see Eck alive after witnessing him arriving home from the Greyhound Pub at 2.15am.

He said: "I just happened to be looking out of the window.

"Later I heard the commotion but by that time there was nothing anyone could do.

"He was a great fisherman and I used to get trout from him.

"He was definitely a well-liked man in the village.

"The worst part is that he lost his kids and mother-in-law – it's uncanny that the same thing would happen again."

Kevin Cameron, who lives just a couple of doors down from number 8, explained how he was woken up by his wife after the alarm was raised.

Next-door neighbours Henry and Tracy banged on windows and doors frantically to alert the couple but there was no answer.

He said: "Emergency services told us to stay inside and I saw an officer run past with something to batter their door down.

"They obviously were already unconscious when Henry and Tracy tried to help.

"Eck was a gentleman and they were great neighbours, we all know each other on this street.

"It's heartbreaking that there was nothing we could do to help."

The family lived on Sir George Bruce Road when they lost their two sons and Sharon's mum in 1992.

Sharon was among those who tried to save them from the blazing house.

Eck rushed home from work at Faslane on the Clyde at the time but was too upset to talk to the Press.

After the tragedy, the couple had another son called Jake, aged 25, who also worked with his dad at Gerco-Fas in Dunfermline.

Eck was a contracts manager for the fire protection firm and had worked there for 25 years.

Boss Michael Anderson, managing director of Gerco-Fas, said: "He was an absolute gentleman.

"I'd known him for a number of years and he was with this company for a long time.

"He was well respected and well-liked within the industry. Very personable and kind-hearted.

"His son, Jake, also joined the company about five or six years ago.

"There is 15 of us here in the Dunfermline office and there's a lot of long-standing members of staff so the news of his death has had a huge impact on us all.

"He was a guy that everyone knew in the Oakley community.

"He was a man with no enemies."

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Police in Fife responded to reports of a fire at an address in Thorn Tree Place, Oakley, at around 6am on Saturday 24th August.

"As a result of this incident, one man sadly died and a woman has been taken to the Victoria Hospital in a critical condition.

"Inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding this fire."

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service added: "Firefighters located and removed to people from the property; however, sadly, one person passed away at the scene.

"The second person was transported by the Scottish Ambulance Service to the Victoria Hospital in a critical condition.

"A joint investigation with Police Scotland colleagues is now under way.”