Baby in danger from torched house

0 - 0 • Published 17 Jun 2009 18:23

A FAMILY of five is living in fear of their building collapsing after a horrific fire ripped through an empty flat.

John Houston and his partner Kirsty McInally are blasting Renfrewshire Council for not offering them alternative accommodation even though their home is at risk and has been left filled with smoke and water-damage.

They claim their three children"s health will suffer if the council does not act immediately to re-home them.

Five-month-old baby Kaillie-Jade suffers from asthma and is now forced to sleep in a damp bedroom after water from the fire brigade"s hoses poured through the family"s ceiling.

The couple called the fire brigade when a blaze started in a top floor flat at 15 MacDowell Street, Johnstone.

20-year-old mum Kirsty said: 'We smelled smoke and realised that the flat two floors above us had gone on fire.

'We were choking on it and you can still smell it a day later.

'My five-year-old won"t come back into the house because he thinks it"s going to fall down.'

The occupier was not in the house at the time and Johnstone police are now treating the fire as "suspicious".

The property has been completely destroyed and was left unsealed for a full 24 hours.

Angry dad John, 24, said: 'The flat should have been sealed off as soon as the fire was put out.

'There is ash and glass all over the close and kids in this building who could easily get hurt if they go anywhere near the flat.

'We had a look and there are junkies" needles and all sorts of things lying about the floor.

'The whole building should be evacuated - instead my family is left to live in a smoky, water-damaged home and no-one is prepared to do anything about it.'

The walls of the couple"s freshly-decorated living room are badly stained and paper is falling off the walls and ceiling.

Johnstone-born John added: 'We were told not even to put the lights on for two days after the fire.

'Our children have had to move bedrooms to the front of the flat because there is water everywhere and they can"t play in the garden because there is burnt rubbish, broken windows, nails and glass from the flat all over the grass.'

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: 'Under no circumstances would we leave anyone in a property which is unsafe.

'We have met with and visited the tenants several times since the fire.

'The assessment at this stage is that redecoration rather than any major structural repair is what is required.

'There needs to be some time for the walls and ceilings to dry out before that redecoration work can be carried out.

'In those circumstances, we wouldn"t rehouse tenants.

'Clearly there is refuse in the area around the build

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This article appeared in The Gazette 17 Jun 09

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