Fatal fire revealed ‘delay’ in council contact

A recent fatal fire in Perth has highlighted a communication breakdown between the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and Perth and Kinross Council.

A 55-year-old man died after the apparently accidental fire at a flat on Bute Drive in the early hours of March 18.

It has emerged there was a “slight delay” in the council being notified of the fire by emergency services.

A fire chief revealed the issue as he presented the quarterly SFRS report for January 1 to March 31 2022 to the housing and social wellbeing committee.

Station Commander Mike Rumgay said: “The occupant in the fire at Bute Drive was not known to the SFRS and subsequently the SFRS engaged with 83 properties within the surrounding area giving advice and reassurance to occupants.

“The incident highlighted a breakdown in communication between the fire service and Perth and Kinross Council Housing so Elaine Ritchie (housing senior service manager) and myself met in conjunction with the emergency planning officers.

“We now have a structured arrangement in place for the whole of Perth and Kinross that will allow for the council to be notified of a fire within any dwelling within Perth and Kinross.”

A council spokesperson said: “Following any serious incident, a debriefing session is held to identify any service improvements.

“In relation to this tragic fire, a slight delay was noted in the council being alerted to the incident by emergency services due to the timing of the incident.

“This slight delay did not have a material impact... and once alerted, our staff were quickly on site to offer support to tenants.”