Fire victims' fury as council staff throw out undamaged items

Published on Thursday 11 February 2010 08:42

RESIDENTS whose homes were destroyed in a major fire have accused council workers of throwing thousands of pounds worth of their undamaged belongings into a skip.

All occupants of the Saughton Mains Park block were evacuated following the blaze on Friday, 29 January, and have been in temporary accommodation since.

Some residents who have returned to the scene to find what can be salvaged, however, claim they have been confronted with their possessions being thrown away.

Cameron Thomson, 27, and girlfriend Kerry Bruce, 21, said they were "disgusted" that workers had dumped suitcases of clothes, "about 6,000 CDs" and jewellery into skips that had then been taken to landfill.

The couple also claimed that the council had kept them "totally in the dark" about the clean-up of the fire-ravaged flats, saying they were not told workers would be binning their belongings.

Mr Thomson said: "We have visited the site every day because the council has told us absolutely nothing about what is going on.

"But when we went down yesterday lunchtime we could see that our house was being emptied of all our belongings. They were dropping things from the top floor into a skip. The building is cordoned off so we couldn't get to our things, but we could see my girlfriend's jewellery box and suitcases full of her clothes had been dumped in the skip. My CDs were scattered everywhere. None of the stuff had been badly damaged by the fire.

"When we went back today the things were gone. We are devastated."

The couple said that while the contents were insured, they had lost a "lifetime worth of photographs".

A council spokesman insisted "all residents" had been contacted with regard to the clean-out of their homes and had been offered the chance to gain controlled access to retrieve valuables.

However, Mr Thomson maintained: "Nobody was in touch with us until I complained about five times. They have now told me that about four cardboard boxes of things have been saved.

"It seems the council and the building company are now accusing each other of authorising the clean-out. As soon as I find out who is responsible I shall be taking legal action."

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said that workers had thrown out her old tea set, which was of great sentimental value, and which she believes was undamaged by the fire.

A council spokesman said

: "We have had regular contact with residents about the latest situation at the Saughton Mains Park.

"This particular flat was on the top floor, which bore the brunt of the damage.

"All residents have been offered the opportunity to gain controlled access to their properties to enable them to retrieve belongings but health and safety issues necessitated strict controls in the worst damaged areas.

"Workmen had to make sure the structure was safe, which meant disposing of debris and any other items that had been damaged not just by the fire but also water."