A mother-of-two had to watch her home burn after her tumble dryer burst into flames in Edinburgh.

Abby was making lunch for her 18-month-old on Nov. 7 when she saw flames out of the corner of her eye.

“When I came back and saw the flames, I went and there was a bang, so I grabbed the little one and the dog and left the house,” she said.

The mother-of-two called emergency services and tried to use a hose to put out the fire herself.

“I left my son with my neighbor to try to put it out myself but the smoke got too much so I had to leave again,” she said.

Abby said she felt helpless waiting for emergency services to arrive.

“It felt like I was waiting forever for the fire services; It was probably only ten minutes, but when you’re looking at the house burning and you can’t do anything, it felt like forever,” she added.

My eldest son was at school at the time, but because we live so close to the school, he and his classmates could see the flames.

“Apparently some of the children in the class were crying; he knows where we live so it was very scary for them,” she said.

When the fire service arrived, Abby said the fire was quickly extinguished and workers took them through the “devastating” damage.

“The conservatory must be demolished and rebuilt; Fortunately, we just replaced the roof with fireproof material, which the fireman said saved the whole house from lifting,” she said.

She added that the open-plan kitchen and living space, as well as the hall and bathroom, needed to be stripped back to the bricks.

“We were told to get rid of our clothes as well because the smoke got on them and you can’t wash the particles.”

Abby said the family expects to be out of the house for eight months to a year.

Two weeks after the fire, Abby said she had heard nothing from the insurance company following the forensics team’s initial investigations.

She added that they opted to stay with relatives after their insurance company offered the family of five a hotel room, which was not suitable because they could not fit their youngest’s cot.

Abby said their surrounding community was “really helpful”, our local Sainsbury’s gave us a free uniform for my son and some outfits for my baby.

“The local Scot Mid has given us baby formula, the local church has sent a message to see if they can help – we can’t take donations as we have nowhere to live,” she said.

“When something like that happens, it makes you realize how much you don’t need.”

The mother said she was “still in denial”, adding that it was hard to believe all their belongings were gone.

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