Two homes in Scotland set on fire by 'stray rocket' as locals call for firework ban
6 November 2020, 12:50
Two homes in the Scottish town of Motherwell have been set on fire amid reports a stray firework landed on the roof.
Fire crews rushed to semi-detached properties in the town's Corrie Drive at 8pm last night.
Video on social media showed huge orange flames and thick smoke as the blaze took hold of the roof.
Locals suggested a "stray rocket" had "landed in the gutter".
Many are now calling on fireworks to be banned.
Scott Symington, who runs the North Motherwell Community group, has set up a fundraising page for the families.
He said: "The impact on our community has been devastating as you could imagine with these horrendous fireworks.
"They've been going on for about a week and a half now. Some of them are like army bombs going off.
"Some people have PTSD and animals and young kids - it's terrible.
"At the moment I’ve set up the go fund page and donations are now over £1000.
"This incident proves to us all that these things really do need banned and removed from our communities before someone else suffers this fate or even worse.
"They make look good but they can cause major problems to humans, animal and now obviously property too."
Police Scotland say nobody was hurt in the incident which isn't being treated as deliberate.
And the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service still had one engine on the scene this morning.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was alerted at 7.56pm on Thursday, 5 November to reports of a fire within a semi-detached, two-storey house in Corrie Road, Motherwell.
“Operations Control immediately mobilised four fire engines to the scene.
"One fire engine and crews currently remain in attendance.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We were made aware of a fire at a property on Corrie Drive in Motherwell at around 8pm on Thursday, 5 November.
"The property was unoccupied at the time and the nobody was injured. The fire is not being treated as deliberate.
"Neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution and officers assisted the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service at the scene."
