A MAN had to be rescued from his Rosyth flat after an early-morning fire in a stairwell.
The blaze broke out in the property in Thomson Place just after 1am on Tuesday.

Neighbours Michael and Tabitha Fox were woken by their daughter Katie, 16, who had heard shouting in the street near their Hudson Road home.

The family jumped into action and while Tabitha called the emergency services, they grabbed a ladder from their garden after hearing shouts from a man in an upstairs flat.

“It was my husband and my daughter who helped the guy out,” said Tabitha. 

“My daughter had heard what she thought was arguing outside and had a look out of her bedroom window and saw the fire. The two guys in the street had got out of the fire and were shouting for someone to call the fire brigade.

“She ran through and woke us up and and we got dressed and went out. There was a guy shouting out of his window as the stairwell was completely up in flames and he couldn’t get out of his flat. My husband remembered we had a ladder in the garden.

“He and Katie ran round and got it and took it to the back of the flats because the flames at the front were bad. My husband helped him get out before the fire brigade came.

“I think he had a bit of smoke inhalation but his mum has messaged on Facebook to say he was OK.”

Tabitha added she was “very proud” of the efforts of her husband and daughter.

“He is good in a crisis,” she added. “He remembered the ladders were there and the adrenaline kicked in.”

After the fire, Police Scotland issued an appeal for witnesses to come forward after the incident.

A spokesperson said: “The cause of fire is yet to be determined, however, inquiries carried out by officers so far have established there were several people in the area around the time of the incident.

“Officers are appealing for these people to contact them as they may have information which could assist in the investigation.

“Anyone with information is asked to call Police Scotland via 101, quoting incident number 0139 of 31 August, 2021.”

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson confirmed they were alerted at 1.06am on Tuesday to reports of a fire in Thomson Place.

“Operations Control mobilised three appliances and firefighters extinguished a fire affecting a common stairwell of a block of four flats,” they said.

“One casualty was handed into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service and crews left after ensuring the area was made safe.”