15 rescued from blaze in city centre tenement

A FIRE chief yesterday praised the “swift and decisive” action of his firefighters for rescuing 15 people, trapped in their homes in a blazing Dundee tenement.

The residents of flats in the upper floors of a five-storey tenement block in the city’s Garland Place were rescued by firefighters as flames swept through the building.

It took 50 firefighter from seven fire units across Tayside almost eight hours to bring the city centre blaze under control after fire fighting operations were hampered by inadequate water supplies. Two of the residents were taken to the city’s Ninewells Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and later released. One firefighter was treated for a shoulder injury.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The cause of the blaze, which also affected neighbouring properties, is still under investigation.

Station manager Roy Dunsire, of Tayside Fire and Rescue Service, said: “I can’t praise the firefighters enough. If it wasn’t for the swift and decisive action of the firefighters then the outcome of this incident could have been far more severe.”

He explained: “On arrival at the address, fire crews were confronted with a five-storey tenement building which was well alight and several residents hadto be rescued from their smoke-filled flats. It was very dynamic in the early stages and the fire developed very rapidly.”

Chief Inspector Sandy Brodie of Tayside Police said: “At the moment we will retain an open mind about the potential cause of the fire; as in every case of a fire of this nature, a joint investigation will take place to try and establish how the fire started.”

Related topics: