Parked cars block emergency vehicles
Fire engine couldn’t get to fire on Stanley Beach
Firefighters were unable to get to a fire on Stanley Beach earlier this week, because too many sun-seekers had parked their cars on the road.
A small fire broke out on one of the islands at the popular sunbathing spot on the River Tay at around 3pm on Wednesday, July 4.
However, cars parked on the verges on Linn Road forced the firefighters to get out and walk on foot with their equipment down to the beach.
Since the incident, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has reminded motorists to be considerate when parking their cars.
One resident has criticised the irresponsible parking as “carnage”, and said the situation could have been a lot worse.
She said: “It is like that every day, especially at the weekend.
“People park their cars and go off to the beach. It is very popular, but people park anywhere they feel like and don’t think about the emergency services.
“The fire engine came down because there was a small fire on one of the islands, but it couldn’t get down because of the cars so the firemen had to get out and carry all their equipment across the beach.
“If the engine could have got to the beach, they would have got closer and quicker.
“With the hot weather we are having there is long, dry grass so it would not take much to start a huge fire and it would be much more serious.
“It is carnage and with it being the summer holidays it is only getting busier. It is mental.”
She added residents yesterday were even forced to bring the public bins on the beach up to the road because the blocked road means council bin lorries cannot get near the beach.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was alerted at 3.25pm on Wednesday, July 4 to reports of a fire in the open near Campsie Linn, Perth.
“Operations control mobilised one fire engine to the scene, where firefighters extinguished the flames.
“There were no casualties. Crews left at 4.15pm after ensuring the area was made safe.”
However, the emergency service has added motorists need to be mindful when parking their cars, following on from this week’s incident. the beach Cars parked on the verges stopped the firefighters from reaching
The spokesperson continued: “We would ask members of the public to always be mindful when parking their vehicles, and to be considerate of any potential obstruction to the emergency services.
“On the rare occasions when our crews are faced with an obstruction they will endeavour to use all
alternative routes available to them or work with our Police Scotland partners who have the powers to remove any significant obstruction should it impact on our response.”
A spokesperson for Police Scotland’s Tayside division confirmed officers had attended.