An Edinburgh student has been left with nothing but the clothes she is wearing after a fire at a Southside chippy destroyed her flat above.
Aimee, a final year PHD student from China, lost everything and was left homeless after the blaze at Franco's Fish and Chips on August 8. Emergency services raced to the chip shop on Summerhall Place shortly after 11:30am.
According to the Daily Record, shocking images of the fire emerged online, showing enormous flames spewing from the open doorway of the takeaway as black smoke billowed into the sky. Pictures also show the devastation left in the wake of the fire, with Aimee’s flat destroyed and Franco’s left a charred shell.
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The student was thankfully at the university when the blaze broke out but now a fundraiser has been set up by a nearby business owner after witnessing the damage the fire caused.
Savannah Banks, owner of August_21 cafe, met with Aimee after reaching out to see if anyone needed help. Writing on the fundraiser, she said: “Aimee told me she was still wearing the same clothes from Monday but had managed to wash and dry them in the sun, so I "shouldn't worry, everything is okay".
"The backpack she was hugging for dear life, the shoes on her feet, the clothes on her back- she had left the flat on Monday at 9 am to go and work on her PhD, not knowing by 11:30 am it would be all she had left.
"I listened to her talk about her family back home in China, her PhD dissertation on design, and her panic at losing everything so close to the start of her final year at university.
"What struck me immediately about Aimee is that despite all the trauma of the recent events, she was desperate to be helpful to me. She was shaken, lost and scared, yet she kept offering me help. We sat together as she told me about the kindness of strangers, people over the road offering her a place to stay, food and drink, and words of advice."
Currently, Aimee is staying with friends in Glasgow. Savannah hopes that the local Newington community can help the student get stable accommodation and replace all the clothes, furniture, bedding, art supplies and equipment lost to the blaze.
August_21 cafe are also selling some of Aimee's artwork to help her recover income.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson previously said: "We were alerted at 11.34am on Monday, 8 August to reports of a fire affecting commercial premises and adjoining property on Summerhall Place, Edinburgh. We have sent nine appliances, including two specialised appliances, to the scene.
"Crews remain in attendance where they work to contain the fire and make the scene safe. Three casualties have been handed into the care of paramedics.”
You can donate to the fundraiser here .
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