Edinburgh: Heroic neighbours rescue man and woman after deadly house explosion

A neighbour has described heroic efforts to rescue two people after a huge explosion left a house in Edinburgh “completely unrecognisable”.

An 84-year-old man died after the blast at a property in Baberton Mains Avenue at about 10.25pm on Friday night, which was heard from miles away.

The victim, named locally as James Smith, is believed to have lived in a home neighbouring the scene of the blast. His next of kin are understood to have been informed of his death.

Neighbours said they could feel their houses shaking, and another person claimed they heard the blast from inside a nearby cinema.

A 43-year-old woman and 54-year-old man were taken to hospital for treatment. Their condition is unknown.

They were rescued by neighbours including Steven MacLennan, who rushed to help after hearing a “loud bang” which he initially believed to be a car crash.

Mr MacLennan told Sky News how he was confronted by “a scene of total devastation”, the type of which he had only ever seen on television, describing the house as “completely unrecognisable”.

When others said they could hear a voice shouting for help from the debris pile, he went in head-first, finding a gap through the rubble to reach the woman.

Describing the dramatic rescue efforts, Mr MacLennan, who has served in the Army Reserves for 20 years, with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, said he had never seen such a scene before.

“As soon as I realised there was a fire in there, and she started to say she was being burned, I couldn’t stop, I had to keep going to get her out.

“By some miracle, there was a burst water pipe right next to me which I managed to turn onto the fire.

“She said she could feel the water, so I just kept going until it was out.”

The woman managed to “wiggle free” after her legs were pinned down and crawled out of the debris pile, Mr MacLennan said.

“Going into that pile (of debris) was not a good idea but I was committed and had to keep going, because I feel that if I hadn’t, it could have been a totally different outcome,” he told Sky News.

Mr MacLennan insisted he was “not a hero” and hailed the other people involved in the rescue effort.

“This isn’t about me, there were lots of other people there as well,” he said.

“I just happened to be a person with a little bit of training that was in exactly the right place at exactly the right time, I was fortunate enough to be in a position to help her.

“If the burst water pipe hadn’t have been there, it would have been completely different.”

The man was also pulled from the rubble before the emergency services arrived.

Mr MacLennan said the incident would “stay with me forever” as he offered his “condolences and heartfelt sorrow” to the family of the man who died.

This has been “devastating for the community”, he added.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service sent five vehicles to the scene, remaining until Saturday morning before handing control to Police Scotland.

A spokesperson confirmed it had received “reports of a gas explosion affecting residential properties on Baberton Mains Avenue” and that there were no suspicious circumstances.

Gas distributor SGN, which was brought in to help emergency services, said it is “too early to speculate as to what has happened”.

“We are working closely with authorities to help discover the cause,” a spokeswoman added.

Several properties were evacuated as a precaution and the road remains closed.

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Police Scotland said emergency services remain on the scene, and people are being urged to avoid the area while an investigation takes place.

A GoFundMe page has been established to support a family who “have lost everything and their home… so close to Christmas”.