A mother whose five-month-old baby narrowly escaped injury after their electric blanket caught fire is backing a nationwide fire safety campaign.

Harriet Fulford, 40, from Edinburgh, and her son Jack visited the Tollcross Lothian and Borders Fire Station to urge the public to protect their homes.

The mother-of-two revealed how she was woken last month by Jack’s cries when fire broke out in their Newington home. When she opened the bedroom door, a smell of burning had filled the room.

Harriet said: “I lifted up the duvet and underneath there was a big black smouldering burn. Then smoke started to come out.

“I was shocked. I picked up Jack and unplugged the blanket and ran out onto the landing. The smoke alarm in the landing then started to go off. Jack’s cot was at the end of the bed, not even two feet away.

“If I hadn’t gone up when he called for food, it would have been a very different situation.”

Although Jack was unharmed, Harriet decided to share her experience to encourage others to think about fire risks in the home.

She said: “We had a lucky escape and a near miss. I want other people to take note - you don’t ever think it’s going to happen to you and it can.

“You have to think about what you would do and whether you should be making changes. I thank my lucky stars because it was very close.”

Of the 6336 fires in Scotland in last year, over a third did not have a smoke alarm installed. 

Forty people lost their lives, eight of whom did not have a smoke alarm.  More than 1100 people were hurt or injured in a fire and in almost a third of these cases no smoke alarm had been installed.

As part of the safety campaign, an 80-date nationwide tour kicks off in Edinburgh’s Kirkgate Shopping Centre today to get people to protect their homes properly. 

The contents of a burnt out living room are being toured to shopping centres to highlight how devastating a fire can be, and local fire crews will be on hand to offer fire safety advice and encourage people to sign up for a free Home Fire Safety Visit.

David Lockhart, community safety manager at Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service, said:  “We want to drive home the message that the public must consider fire safety in their home.

“People should identify what could start a fire and how to stop that from happening. They should have a working fire detector and an escape plan so if a blaze does start in your home, you can get out, stay out and call the fire service.

“We want every home to have a working smoke alarm.”

Roseanna Cunningham, Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs, said: “The story of Harriet and little Jack is a reminder that fire in the home can happen to anyone, which underlines the need to take precautions. While they thankfully lived to tell the tale, sadly other families have not been so fortunate.

“Every life lost to fire is a tragedy and lessons must be learned to ensure the number of lives lost continues to fall.”