A father has revealed how he was forced to put his disabled baby on a window sill in their flat in an attempt to protect her from a fire engulfing their home.
Bryan Denny attempted to shield eight-month-old Robyn from the blaze as firefighters tackled the fire that started in a block of flats.
Emergency services rushed to the scene in Ann Street in Hamilton’s Burnbank area at around 1.20am on Saturday, July 29.
Bryan, 28, told the Daily Record: “We were in our bed sleeping. Before we went to sleep we had heard some banging outside but that’s not unusual.
“We were woken up by smoke and carbon monoxide alarms going off.
“The first thing I did was to open the window. What I didn’t know at that time was the flat in our block was already up in flames.
“The flats had already been evacuated but my friend had told the firefighters who had already arrived that we were still in our flat.
“I turned on our lights to see the smoke. I opened the front door to see the black smoke, an orange glow and the firefighters told me to get back inside.
“We did a quick risk assessment and it was decided that we should remain in the flat.
“Myself, my partner Naomi and Robyn got to the window and we had Robyn on the window sill to stop her breathing in the smoke.”
Bryan is now determined to leave the property
He added: “We need to get out of here for my daughter’s sake.
“She suffers from hydrocephalus which is a build-up of fluid in the brain.
“There is a lot of stress living here. Something always seem to happen here. I’ve spoken to the council about a move. We need a move. It seems we are caught in the cross-fire with everything that is going on around here.”
Police confirmed to Lanarkshire Live that enquiries are continuing into the fire.
Detective Constable Ashley Hind, of Lanarkshire CID, said: “Thankfully no-one was injured as a result of the fire, however, it has caused extensive damage to the property. We are treating the fire as deliberate and are asking anyone with any information to come forward and speak to officers. Although this took place in the early hours of the morning, I would ask if you noticed anyone acting suspicious in the area to get in contact with police.
“I would also appeal to anyone who has possible dashcam or CCTV footage that may be able to assist us with our enquiries.”
