Pram blaze at flats may have been deliberate

A BLAZE that began in a pram in the stairwell of a block of flats may have been started deliberately, fire chiefs said.

Twenty-one people were rescued after being trapped in the flats in Perth. Firefighters from three units from Tayside Fire and Rescue Service led the residents to safety on Thursday night following the blaze at Cairn Place, in the Tulloch area of the town.

No one was injured in the fire, but one woman was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

The blaze was later traced to a baby’s pram, which had been left in the common stairwell.

A spokesman for the fire service said: “Thankfully, no one was seriously injured at this incident. A total 16 firefighters were in attendance to deal with the fire and subsequent rescues, and it was through the quick actions of firefighters and the support from partner agencies that this incident was brought to a safe conclusion.

“The fire was caused by the ignition of a pram and blankets left within the common close and it is being treated as suspicious. Tayside Police scenes of crime officers and Tayside Fire and Rescue Fire investigation officers are carrying out an ongoing investigation into the fire.”

Meanwhile, more than 40 firefighters from Grampian Fire and Rescue Service spent the night tackling a huge blaze at a farmhouse in Aberdeenshire.

The fire fighting operation at Witchill Farm, Memsie, near Fraserburgh was hampered by a lack of water supplies in the area.

At the height of the blaze firefighters from Fraserburgh, Ellon, Peterhead, Banff, Inverurie and Aberdeen were involved in the tackling the fire. The large farmhouse building was seriously damaged, but no one was injured.

The cause of the blaze has still to be established.