A schoolboy’s Xbox alerted him to a fire in his parents bedroom - moments before a devastating blaze ripped through the family home.
Brodie Trayner, 16, was upstairs with his girlfriend Freya when the device suddenly cut out during a game on May 10.
He rushed out of his room to check if there was a problem with the electrics in the house, but quickly noticed smoke billowing from under his mum and dad’s door.
The teenager, from Cupar, Fife, then raced to alert his dad Paul, who was working downstairs, before the family fled to the garden for safety.
Within minutes, they were watching in horror as the flames burst through their roof.
Paul, 46, told the Record: “Brodie ran downstairs and got me then I rushed up to see there was a fire in the corner of our bedroom.
“The flames had started to engulf the wardrobe. I wasn’t able to assess the full extent of it because by this point there was loads of really thick black smoke to chest height. But I could see that the whole back wall of the room was ablaze.
“My youngest Charlotte was also in the house so I knew I just had to get everyone out.
“We all just stood there and watched it burn. The speed it took hold was just incredible - it all happened within minutes.
“It felt like an out of body experience.”
Brodie’s mum Jenna, 46, was at the hairdressers when the terrifying incident took place.
Paul added: “My wife was extremely upset. When she saw the house she just screamed. It was very emotional.”
Fire crews spent hours fighting the blaze, using heat sensors to seek out areas at risk of catching fire again. Crews even had to take water from nearby the River Eden as they tackled the flames.
Paul, Jenna and their kids continued to watch as their house and possessions burned.
Paul continued: “The top part of the house was completely gutted and the bottom half is flooded because of the hoses. If it’s not fire, then it’s water damage.
“When we went to visit the house we opened the back door and it was like a tsunami of water just hit us. The devastation upstairs was so obvious, there’s nothing more final than fire.
“Everything is gone, we’ve got nothing left.”
The family has been told that the fire started in the bedroom due to an electrical fault.
Paul, Jenna, Brodie, his sisters Ballie, 15, Charlotte, 11, and dog Hudson are now staying at an AirBnB.
They are wearing clothes that were donated by kind locals after the community rallied together, raising more than £7,000 for the family through a GoFundMe page.
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Paul said he couldn’t thank the community enough for their incredible support.
He added: “A local restaurant even sent us our dinner on the night of the fire so we didn’t have to cook.
“Brodie’s friends have even tried to donate small amounts and they only work part time jobs.”
Paul has now vowed to rebuild the historical house, which sits just outside of Cupar and dates back to 1879.
Paul said: “The insurance has been really helpful so far, helping us sort temporary accommodation.
“We’re looking for a long-term rental now and we’re determined to restore the house and move back.”
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