Flats blaze probe after residents evacuated

Fire is believed to have been started deliberately in common close

A fire investigation has been launched after 18 people, including nine children, had to be rescued from a burning block of flats in Perth.

The blaze, which is believed to have been deliberately started, took hold of a building in the city’s Rannoch Road in the early hours of Saturday.

It originated in the common close, but sent smoke billowing through the stairwell and into flats above.

Firefighters were swiftly on the scene to tackle the blaze and rouse all the occupants of the block.

A total of 18 people – nine adults and nine children – were evacuated and handed into the care of paramedics.

Fortunately no-one was hurt and residents were soon able to return to their homes, which did not sustain any lasting damage.

Police Scotland said the incident is being treated as suspicious and a joint investigation is being carried out with Scottish Fire and Rescue.

On Saturday, the building was partially cordoned off and police officers were stationed at the main entrance awaiting the arrival of a specialist team from the SFRS.

Within the block, the charred remains of a cupboard door and blackened walls were visible behind police tape.

The smell of smoke was heavy in the air and windows were thrown wide open to ventilate properties.

Locals praised Scottish Fire and Rescue crews for their fast action, which enabled them to return to their homes a short time after the fire took hold.

A fire services spokesman said: “We were alerted to reports of a fire within a common close at a block of flats on Rannoch Road in Perth at 3.26am on Saturday.

“Three appliances were immediately mobilised and firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used high powered hoses to extinguish the fire.”

The blaze came a matter of hours after fire chiefs welcomed a significant drop in the number of deliberately started blazes across Perthshire.

New figures revealed crews were called to 20 wilful fires between January and March, down a third on the same period last year.

An ongoing campaign to clamp down on antisocial behaviour has been credited for the decrease.

The fire took hold in the early hours of Saturday at a property in Rannoch Road.