Tenants living in a Lochee multi fear there could have been “catastrophic” consequences after an abandoned sofa caught fire near the ground floor.
Emergency crews including four fire engines, paramedics and police were scrambled to Ancrum Court shortly before 7pm on Sunday.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed they received a number of calls in connection with the fire, which had taken place on the communal stairwell.
Kenneth Cassidy, who has lived in the council-owned multi for over 10 years, said smoke began “belching” up the stairwell as fire alarms began sounding on several landings.
The 64-year-old said: “I heard the alarms going off and looked down the stairwell and so the smoke belching up.
“I knew the protocol was to stay in your home and not to use the lift.
“My only concern would have been with the lifts going off how people with mobility issues might have got down the stairs.
“With the fire being so near to the ground floor their only option would have been to walk towards the smoke.”
Kyle Purvis, 25, said the sofa which had caught fire had been sitting vertically between two landings.
The former Baldragon Academy pupil said the sofa had been there since early on Sunday morning, which Dundee City Council has denied.
“There are a number of ongoing problems with this block, I’m at my wits’ end with this place,” Kyle said.
“A lot of lives could have been put at risk here – it could have been catastrophic when you think how many people live here.
“The sofa had been sitting there from much earlier in the day.
“From what I could see some of the material had been stripped-off as the springs and some of the frame were visible.
“You actually had to shuffle past it the way it was positioned. The emergency services were here for quite some time.
“There was a lot of ash on the stairs but it has been cleaned up now but it was still quite smoky.”
Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said she was returning home in a taxi at around 7.30pm when she saw the emergency services at the scene.
She said: “When I arrived there was only two fire engines and I clocked four or five paramedics at the scene.
“I only had to wait 20 minutes or so before I got inside but it’s really dangerous that the sofa caught fire.
“I’m a grandmother and did start to think what if the fire had taken hold and I’d had my grandchild here?”
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland confirmed there was no suggestion of any criminality following the fire.
Scottish Fire and Rescue also confirmed the fire had been extinguished prior to there arrival.
She added: “Officers attended after a sofa caught fire in a communal stairwell.
“Crews from Blackness Road and the Kingsway attended the scene.
“Crews ventilated and checked the property before the last appliance left at 8.14pm.”
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “Council officers regularly inspect the multi-storey blocks.
“The stairwell was inspected less than an hour before the incident where no sofa was present.
“The area has been cleaned and we will continue to engage with local residents to fulfil any repairs or health and safety requirements following the fire.”