Edinburgh gran who rescued children from burning home is saved from Niddrie house fire by hero

Edinburgh grandmother who saved children from blaze has her good deed repaid after being rescued from her own burning home

Almost five decades ago Margret Burstow rescued two young toddlers from their blazing home in Niddrie. The heroine woke the two boys and led them to safety after the fire destroyed the entirety of their home. Fast forward 45 years, the now elderly woman has been rescued from her own house fire by another Good Samaritan.

Margaret's house of 20 years was engulfed in flames on Monday, April 24, when a selfless passerby saved her and daughter, Helen, from the burning inferno. The 85-year-old said: “I’m just so grateful to be alive, it feels like good karma has happened to me from saving those children years ago. It’s a miracle. It definitely feels like fate and that someone is looking out for me.”

Edinburgh father-of-four Dean Clark has been thanked profusely by the mother and daughter for saving their lives after they awoke to the home being shrouded in flames, suspected to have been sparked by an old mobility chair setting alight. The 35-year-old was on his way to work at the Co-op in Milton Road at about 4.45am when he noticed smoke billowing across the residential area. Initially he thought the flames were coming from Sandy’s community hub, but after closer inspection he realised the blaze was at a home in Niddrie Farm Grove.

An Edinburgh gran has been saved from her burning home by a kind stranger, almost half a century after she rescued children from flames

Margaret described feeling ‘frightened’ as she was ‘heroically man-handled’ out of the burning inferno. She said: “Once I was out of the house the man who saved me disappeared, as if it’s the norm to rescue people from fires on the way to work.”

Completely unaware of the fire, the passing man had to wake the pair up with loud banging on their back door. The property quickly filled with thick black smoke, restricting their vision and blocking any direct route out of the burning house. Dean said he quickly went into ‘auto-pilot’ as he wrapped a piece of clothing around his mouth and rescued Margaret. The ‘selfless’ man quickly and safely placed the elderly woman with her neighbours.

After everyone was safely evacuated from the blaze, both Helen and Margaret wanted to thank Dean for saving lives by surprising him at the Co-op with a thank you card. Little to their knowledge, the local hero continued his good will by gifting the elderly woman with a care package full of store goods. Margaret has now been forced to move out of her house of 20 years and temporarily live with her daughter Helen until a new house is provided to her.

Helen said: “It’s bittersweet as she’s lost everything in that house, all those memories of living there for two decades. She loved her garden as she put so much work into it, as well as all the nature she took care of. From squirrels to robbins, she poured so much love into it and now it’s completely destroyed. She’s lost everything, but grateful for what we have left and to be alive.”