Retail park blaze heroics are hailed
service. On behalf of the community, can I thank the police and fire service for the sterling work they did?”
Fellow city centre councillor Chris Ahern also highlighted the support he witnessed being offered to the emergency services during the incident.
Billy McLintock, group manager at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, told councillors he knew the fire was going to be a big one as soon as he arrived on the scene in the early hours of August 24.
As the operational manager throughout the tragic incident, one
Cllr Brawn, who now convenes the housing and communities committee, wants to see every police officer armed with a taser.
Ch Supt Todd told the committee there are officers in Tayside who are of his first actions was to call a multiagency meeting which involved calling in a wide range of groups including utility companies and those connected with the rail network.
He praised the efforts of firefighters armed with tasers.
He said careful consideration had to be given before a taser was used and if it was the least forceful option officers could use.
Ch Supt Todd said: “Staff trained have found it to be very beneficial.”
He went on to say “unfortunately” there had been a very small number of occasions (six) where tasers had been discharged but said no injuries had been sustained as a result.
The police chief explained how his officers were put in a difficult position, saying while the ordinary person could choose to walk away if they came across someone who was extremely angry, the police have to who worked to contain the fire within three hours and “stopped it from going further”.
A total of 15 fire appliances from across Perth and Kinross and beyond were in attendance.
Mr McLintock said: “I initially thought it would go over the railway line and to Wickes.”
He also told the committee he did not allow his firefighters to enter the building early on because “it was not safe”.
The firefighters worked alongside staff at Pets at Home to safely remove animals from the store.
“walk towards it.”
He said officers were up against people armed with “hammers, bits of wood and knives” and the “challenges and risks out there are escalating.”
The chief superintendent said he is “seeking reassurance that courts are looking after our officers as they should be.”
Ch Supt Todd could not contain his frustration at the dangers his officers are exposed to - they come up against someone violent and have to decide whether or not to approach them or pose a risk to the public by not intervening.
He fumed: “I am angry on behalf of my staff.”
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service stayed on site for three or four days when the retail park became a crime scene following the tragic discovery of a body.
Chief Superintendant Andrew Todd said: “We had to work together to establish when the scene was safe to work. Just because we are not on the scene, does not mean we cannot continue to work. We used specialists from across the country.”
Mr McLintock added they had been supported by the rapid response team which he described as a “tremendous service”