Over £2,500 raised for young dad treated in Glasgow after suspected gas explosion

Darren Graham, 33, was pulled from his burning home in Larbert, Falkirk, by firefighters on Saturday afternoon.

Crews raced to the scene around 1.40pm after being alerted to an explosion. The building was already well alight and quickly spread from Darren's home to his neighbour's property.

Darren's two sons, Kenzie, 12, and Jay, nine, weren't in the house at the time and no-one else was injured in the incident.

Darren, who is also known as Tiger, was immediately rushed by ambulance to Glasgow Royal Infirmary where he is receiving specialist treatment for burns to his upper body.

Darren’s friend, Laura Burns, 39, has now launched a fundraiser with £2,470 raised for Darren.

Laura said: "Darren and his boys have lost everything. The community in the Broomage sticks together and people were asking how they could help.

"As well as money to help him get set up again when he gets out of hospital, I've had offers of clothes and toys for the boys.

"Everyone has been so shocked by this and wanted to help in whatever way they could. It's so difficult when something happens to someone you know.

"His entire family live in the Broomage and they are all devastated. People don't have the money to start again from scratch so this is everyone else rallying round to help in whatever way they can."

The cause of the blaze is still being investigated.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Ten properties were evacuated but the majority of residents have now been able to return to their homes."

A spokesperson for Falkirk Council said; "We rehoused two individuals on Saturday night who needed accommodation while everyone else affected found alternatives with friends and families.

"We're working with SGN currently to ensure those returning to their homes have temporary welfare facilities etc and that we hope SGN will be able to re-establish gas connections as soon as it is safe to do so.

"Our Building Standards team have been on site are looking at the conditions of the buildings affected.

"Unfortunately, two of the buildings are so significantly damaged, they are too dangerous to carry out internal inspections at the moment.

"We have installed fencing at the location to ensure public safety. We will continue to offer support to anyone affected the incident if requested."

"We'd also extend our sincere gratitude to the local community for helping out and in particular, the local church and social club who willingly came to the assistance of affected residents and to supporting the emergency services personnel who were working hard to make the area safe."

To donate visit the GoFundMe website.