Saughton Park Fire: Hero who dragged homeless person from burning facility tells of moment he saved man's life

Kyle Mcandrew was playing with his kids when the blaze erupted.

A hero caught on camera dragging a disabled homeless person from a suspicious blaze at an Edinburgh park has told of the moment instinct took over and he saved the man's life.

Kyle Mcandrew was playing with his kids when a fire took hold of a lock-up storage facility at Saughton Park.

Emergency services were called to the scene at Saughton enclosure shortly before 7pm last night.

Kyle Mcandrew pulled the man from the blaze in Saughton Park. Picture: Contributed.

A dramatic video taken by a passerby captured the moment Mr Mcandrew rushed to the man's aid as flames billowed into the sky.

A hub normally used for storing mats and hurdles amongst other track and field equipment could be seen ablaze .

Today as police continued a probe into the cause of the blaze, Mr Mcandrew, 32, told the Evening News how he had been playing with his kids when the fire took hold.

Kyle Mcandrew. Picture: contributed

Both he and his children were on the field by the storage container when he noticed that a fire had erupted.

At first, he ensured his children's safety before going in for a closer inspection - it was then that he heard the calls for help from a disabled homeless man believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s.

Mr Mcandrew said: “My instincts just kicked in when I saw a man lying there. The flames were engulfing the container and my only thought was getting him out of there.

"It was obvious that he had mobility issues and I later found out he had MS.

"The adrenaline just kicked in and I dragged him away to safety. You can see from the video that material is melting and it does not bear thinking about what would have happened if that man had been trapped in there.

"I'm just glad I could help him."

The man is said to have been planning to stay overnight in the enclosure and it is not yet clear whether he had spent previous nights in the container.

Mr Mcandrew also stated that he had to chase a group of youths aged 14-16 away from the scene of the incident and that he believed they had been seen in the area on CCTV.

A witness who arrived on the scene shortly after the fire was extinguished at 7:30pm said that they had overheard neighbours saying that they had reported several incidents of anti-social behaviour within the enclosure over the past few weeks.

Tam Smith, Hutchison Vale club leader, contacted the Evening News shortly after the blaze had been reported widely on social media.

Hutchison Vale Lothian Thistle is one of the stakeholders for the pitch and enclosure along with an athletics club and others.

Mr Smith said: “It is horrible to hear what has happened at the Saughton enclosure tonight and by the sounds of things it could have been much worse.

“We are unaware of who the mystery hero is but if they had not been there then you hate to think what might have happened to the man who was inside the storage container.”

Questions were raised by Hutchison Vale regarding the security of the enclosure over five weeks ago.

Mr Smith has shared correspondence with the Evening News detailing their struggle in trying to gain access for a blacksmith to secure the enclosure.

On May 4 a blacksmith who had all the adequate equipment ready to secure the premises but it was claimed that he was turned away by an Edinburgh Council official.

Hutchison Vale had offered to cover this out of their own pocket after suffering over £1,000 worth of damage to dugouts, nets and other equipment at the hands of vandals.

Mr Smith believes there have been thousands of pounds of damage caused by the fire as several lanes of the track were impacted as well as athletic equipment.

This raises questions about the security of the enclosure and if the fire was avoidable.

A police spokesperson said: "Police enquiries are continuing into a fire in Saughton Park, Edinburgh on the evening of Monday 1 June, where a shelter and sporting equipment were set alight. The fire is being treated as wilful.

"The fire has been extinguished and no one was injured. Officers are currently following a number of lines of enquiry."