The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Onlookers rush to help put out fire after smoke seen pouring from flat
Aman has been taken to hospital after firefighters tackled a blaze in a ground-floor flat on Albert Street in Dundee.
Three fire engines and several police vehicles were called to the scene in Stobswell. Footage showed smoke pouring out of the window of the tenement, near the corner with McGill Street.
One man has been treated for smoke inhalation.
Talwinder Singh and Irfan Bashir, from Aberdeen, were among several people who went to the aid of those who were in the flat.
Mr Bashir said“We saw smoke coming out from the window and parked our car outside.
“A man came out of the window on to the street and shouted that there was a fire.
“We managed to get a fire extinguisher from the neighbouring shops to help put out the fire.
“It grew very quickly and the flames came very high.
“There was a boy and girl in their late 20s who managed to get out.
“There was another person as well, who I think managed to escape through the back of the building.”
Mr Singh said: “We got two small fire extinguishers from the barbers and hairdressers across the road. The fire looked to have started in the back and spread to the front.
“It spread within two or three minutes and it was very big – there was lots of smoke.”
Meaghan Hund, an employee at Sharon Allan Hair Design – opposite the block of flats – said: “I was just doing a client’s hair and saw smoke coming out the window.
“There were a few men and women standing at the window and then the next thing they were trying to push the window in.
“Then another woman came running across and got a fire extinguisher from us and ran back over.
“It just happened so quickly. Everybody was just in shock.”
Another bystander watched as members of the public went to the aid of those inside the flat.
He said: “One person was spraying a fire extinguisher into one of the open windows. People were shouting ‘get out’ to whoever was inside.
“The police then arrived and took over using the extinguisher before a fire crew came on scene.
“After a couple of minutes, I started to see the orange glow of the fire as more emergency service vehicles arrived. There was a small black dog who was given an oxygen mask outside the property.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “At around 11.40am, police and emergency services were called to a report of a fire at a flat on McGill Street, Dundee.
“One man, the householder, has been taken by ambulance to hospital as a precaution – believed to be as a result of smoke inhalation. There are no details on his condition.
“A member of the public was also treated at the scene by ambulance for smoke inhalation.
“The fire is not being treated as suspicious.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We had three appliances in attendance at a property on Albert Street in Dundee. We got the call at 11.34am yesterday.”
“It just happened so quickly. Everybody was in shock