Dad compelled to carry child daughter on window sill as large blaze engulfs flats

A father has revealed how he was compelled to place his disabled child on a window sill of their flat in an try to guard her from a fireplace engulfing their house.

Bryan Denny tried to defend eight-month-old Robyn from the blaze as firefighters tackled the hearth that began in a block of flats.

Emergency companies rushed to the scene in Ann Street in Hamilton’s Burnbank space at round 1.20am on Saturday, July 29.

Bryan, 28, advised 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 have been 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 however my good friend had advised the firefighters who had already arrived that we have been nonetheless 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 fast threat evaluation and it was determined that we must always stay within 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 decided to depart 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 within the mind.

“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 persevering with into the hearth.

Detective Constable Ashley Hind, of Lanarkshire CID, mentioned: “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 might additionally attraction to anybody who has potential dashcam or CCTV footage that could possibly help us with our enquiries.”