A widowed mum-of-two has been "left with nothing" after an oil wax melt burner went up in flames at her Scots flat.
Pauline Limond was in the kitchen of her property on Dryburgh Avenue in Denny, near Falkirk, when the candle went on fire at around 2pm on Wednesday, November 10.
The 52-year-old cleaner had lit the burner in the living room after coming in from work and was hanging up washing when the smoke alarm started going off.
She raced into the room and saw huge flames raging up the walls at the side where the candle had been lit before her and her son 15-year-old son, Matthew Foster, ran outside without so much as their shoes on.
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."
Pauline says after they ran down the stairs they heard a loud bang which alerted the neighbours downstairs.
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.
Pauline said: "The fire was contained but everything else is smoke damaged. I don't even know when we'll ever get back in the house. It's going to be a long, long time.
"I don't even have insurance. That was just a luxury I couldn't afford.
"They told me I can take my washing machine and that but everything is stinking. Even my glasses were in the kitchen and I'm going to have to get glasses because they stink, everything stinks of smoke.
"I took some clothes from the house, washed them twice and I've had to bin them as they're ruined."
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.
She said: "The people of Denny have just been amazing, they've even given clothes to me and my son.
"I'm in my mum's house at the moment and my son is sleeping on the couch.
"I'm trying to get a private let so that GoFundMe page will help me get a deposit and the first month's rent.
"I don't have much money anyway, I've just got enough to live, but that fundraiser will get me somewhere."
Devastated Pauline is now urging folk to avoid buying the wax melt burners to avoid this happening again.
She said: "My biggest thing is warning folk about this.
"From that tiny little thing I've lost everything. We need to get out and start again.
"It just plays in my head constantly, what if?"
She sobbed: "I can't even begin to tell you. It's personal things, all the paper work and everything was in the living room. There's a lot of stuff that I'll never get back. It's just devastating, people just need to get rid of them.
"People told me before they go on fire because the wax overheats but I thought that was rubbish.
"People need to get shot of them, I don't want anyone else to go through this."
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.”
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