Stuart Angus believes if he had gone to bed at his usual time on the night of the blaze on June 3 his entire family would be dead.

The 37-year-old recalled how he watched helplessly as flames ripped through the house he grew up in as a child, destroying all his possessions.

Now Stuart, his wife Jennifer, 32, daughter Emily, 6, son Mason, 2, and nephew Taylor, 13 — a cystic fibrosis sufferer currently in his care — must rebuild their lives after being made homeless by the terrifying blaze.

Fighting back tears, Stuart said: “I have to pass by the house every day to take the kids to school and nursery and it’s heartbreaking.

“It’s been eight weeks and we still haven’t managed to find a rented property in Erskine to live in, we’re sleeping on the floors and couches of relatives and sometimes in a caravan in Ayrshire, which is miles away from the kids’ schools.

“All our personal possessions and memories are gone. I’ve lost all the photographs of my dad as well, which is really upsetting as he died when I was 19.

“We just want to put our lives back together and put a roof over our heads but the council can’t seem to find us a place in Erskine.

“My wife works as a staff nurse at the Southern General Hospital but has had to take time off work because she’s so stressed out by the ordeal.” Stuart, who owns the Gus Decor business based in Erskine, said he had been just about to go to bed around 12pm that night when suddenly he saw a light flicker in his loft.

Within minutes he was screaming for his family members to get outside and they watched as the house at Cullen in Northbar went up in smoke.

“If I’d have gone to bed ten minutes later, we would have all been dead,” Stuart says bluntly. “I normally go to bed about half ten but for some reason I stayed up later that night.” He added: “I’m pretty sure my dad must have been watching over me, otherwise we might not have been here.” In the disaster, Stuart’s children Emily, a Rashielea Primary pupil, son Mason, a Pandemonium nursery student and his teenage nephew Taylor, who goes to Park Mains High, lost all their school work, toys and clothes.

Stuart also lost irreplacable photographs of his father Graham, who died aged just 51 of a sudden brain haemorrhage, as well as any items left over from him.

“It seems like one thing after another,” the devastated dad continued. “Our family recently took our nephew into care and he suffers from cystic fybrosis, a life-threatening illness, so we have to care for him and try to create a stable environment for him, which we can’t at the moment because our family home is gone.

“My mum and dad bought the property 37 years ago so it’s the place I’ve known all my life.

“But now I don’t even know if I have it in me now to ever go back after what happened.

“We just want to try and get back to normal and get a three-bedroom rented flat in Erskine so we can stay locally at least.

“I’m just grateful we’re all safe, something that night saved the five of us.” Reports of the blaze were first received shortly after midnight and crews were sent to the address in response to the first of several 999 calls made that night.

Operations Control mobilised two appliances from Clydebank Community Fire Station and first responders reached the scene six minutes later.

The incident commander, Watch Manager Andrew Fletcher, said at the time: “The reports were of a fire in a loft and when we arrived the roof-space was already well-alight.

“Firefighters were immediately committed to attack the fire. We also requested two additional appliances to increase our personnel at the scene and these were sent from Renfrew and Dumbarton.” He added: “During the course of the operation our crews used three high pressure jets to attack the fire and we had eight firefighters in breathing apparatus inside the property working to bring it under control.” The family are now appealing for help to find a rented property in Erskine.

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