Two people die after Dundee flat fire

Two people have died following a fire in Dundee. Picture: John Devlin

TWO people died yesterday after a fire broke out in a top-floor flat.

The blaze took place in a tenement building in Dundee’s Park Avenue, in the city’s Stobswell area, around 7am.

Residents said they saw two people, a man and a woman, receiving treatment in the street.

Police later confirmed the pair had died in hospital as a result of the blaze.

A cordon was put in place as a joint investigation involving police and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service got under way.

Sean Rowan, 25, who lives below the flat where the fire took place, said: “There was a black stain above my bed. There was creaking - that’s what I heard first.

“I thought somebody had left the tap on. It was only when I got up and turned on the light I saw smoke coming from the stain.

“I got my laptop and got my dad’s dog out and called 999. They told me to get myself and anyone else out of the flat.”

Four fire crews arrived and took residents from the burning flat where they tried to revive them.

Another resident, Henry Stewart, said he saw a man receiving treatment from emergency crews in the street when they were evacuated by police around 7:30am.

He said: “He looked pretty bad. Apparently a woman was pulled out earlier. The lad that lives above me woke up and saw the smoke and a big black mark on the ceiling and so he called the fire brigade. I don’t know how long it had been going to do that.”

Mr Stewart added: His face was completely black. They worked on him for 20 to 25 minutes.

“The firemen were taking it in turns doing chest compressions and using the air bulb to give him oxygen, but it was hopeless. It is totally tragic.”

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland’s Tayside Division said: “Emergency services received a report of a flat fire at Park Avenue in Dundee at around 7am this morning.

“A cordon was established whilst police, fire crews and ambulance attended the scene.

“Police can confirm that two people have sadly died as a result of the fire. No further details are available at this time, and next of kin have not been made aware.

“Inquiries are continuing, and a joint investigation with the Scottish Fire and Rescue service has been launched. A cordon will remain in place while inquiries continue.”

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