Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Inquiry into blaze after festive party
F I R E c h ie fs a re today trying to solve the riddle of what started a blaze which destroyed a restaurant just hours after the staff were enjoying their Christmas party.
Workers from Valentino’s Italian, on Carden Place, Aberdeen, left their festive bash, which was due to finish around midnight, shortly before the block was ravaged by the inferno.
Such was the scale of yesterday’s blaze that it took about 40 firefighters four hours to put it out, and investigators are now probing whether the incident is suspicious.
They spent much of the day dampening down the ruins and trying to prevent the fire from reigniting, before leaving at 4pm.
However, the fire broke out again less than 25 minutes later and crews were back on the scene last night. Police closed neighbouring roads.
The building is owned by accident and injury legal firm Quantum Claims, which leases part of it to Valentino’s.
Quantum Claims chairman Frank Lefevre said: “The building is ruined. It’s an absolute disaster.
“It’s just a relief nobody was hurt.” Mr Lefevre, whose firm bought the building in 1990, added: “My daughter phoned me at around 7am on
Monday to tell me about the fire. I feel extremely upset by the news. It’s difficult to tell when the building will be fixed, at the moment we think it might be around two years.”
The building, which also contained Lefevre Litigation and Bidwells, used to house Queen’s Cross Maternity Home.
It is understood fire chiefs will file a report once the fire is completely out. They will then decide if it is necessary to pass it to police.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s Aberdeen city group commander Ally Birkett said: “This has been a large and challenging incident. Crews worked throughout the night to bring this fire under control.”