A widowed mum-of-two has been "left with nothing" after a devastating fire caused by an oil burner destroyed all of her possessions.
Pauline Limond, 52, was hanging up washing when the blaze set off her fire alarm at around 2pm on Wednesday, November 10.
Pauline had lit an oil wax melt burner in her living room after returning home from her job as a cleaner, the Daily Record reports.
As the fire alarm wailed, she ran into the room and found huge flames climbing up the walls where the candle had been placed.
Pauline and her son Matthew, 15, didn't even have shoes on when they raced outside to safety.
Fire crews rushed to the home but the flat was completely gutted, and everything not burnt to a crisp is now smoke-damaged.
Pauline told the Record: "It's been awful. My mission is to get everyone to get rid of these candle burners.
"They are lethal. I was in the house when this happened.
"I came in from my work and lit my candles because I love the smell of them. I went from the living room into the kitchen - and I was just hanging up washing on the phone to my aunt when five or ten minutes later I heard my smoke alarm going off.
"I grabbed a tea towel to wave the smoke away from the fire alarm - but then I could smell something.
"Out the corner of my eye I saw everything was on fire at the side where my candle was.
"I had dried flowers at the side of my fireplace and they had already caught fire.
"By the time I was in the room there was no way I could have tackled it. I live with my youngest son and he was in the house so my priority was just to get us out.
"It caught very fast, it was going up the walls and everything."
After running down the stairs, they heard a loud bang which also alerted their downstairs neighbours.
Fire crews raced to the scene of the blaze but Pauline's council flat was gutted by the flames.
They managed to contain the fire to the living room but all of their possessions in the property have been smoke damaged beyond repair.
Video footage and pictures show the property devastated by the blaze.
The fire service contained the blaze to the living room but everything else was damaged by the smoke.
Pauline fears the worst because she didn't have insurance, which she called "a luxury I couldn't afford".
Despite her best attempts to salvage some items, they all "stink" of smoke, she says.
Pauline tragically lost her husband Ron Foster four years ago when he was diagnosed with lung cancer and died six weeks later.
Family friend George Haney has set up a fundraiser to help support Pauline and Matthew and try to get them back on their feet again.
The GoFundMe has already smashed it's target of £500, with over £1,000 in donations so far.
Pauline says she has been overwhelmed by the support of the community following the tragic incident.
Locals have donated clothes to the mum and son, who are currently living with Pauline's mum.
The money raised from the Go Fund Me will go towards helping the small family pay for the deposit and initially rent payment for a private let.
Devastated Pauline is now urging folk to avoid buying the wax melt burners to avoid this happening again.
"People need to get shot of them, I don't want anyone else to go through this," she said.
To donate to the fundraiser to get Pauline and Mathew back on their feet, click here.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 2.01pm on Wednesday, November 10, to reports of a fire affecting a domestic property in Dryburgh Avenue, Denny.
“Operations control mobilised three fire engines to the scene and firefighters extinguished the fire.
“There were no reported casualties and crews left after ensuring the area was made safe.”
