An elderly Dundee man who tragically died alongside his beloved pet dog in a house fire has been named locally as Stuart Smith.
Neighbours have led tributes to the pensioner after the fire tore through the 79-year-old’s home in Fintry on Sunday.
Residents living on Finavon Terrace said they have been left “shell-shocked” and said Mr Smith was the type of person who would do anything to help people.
Four appliances had battled the fire at the property shortly after 7am with Police Scotland later confirming a man had died.
Resident, June Rashid, 66, spoke of her sadness at the news and said she saw paramedics battling to save both Mr Smith and his dog.
‘Completely shell-shocked’
She added: “People around here are completely shell-shocked by what happened.
“He was such a lovely man, if you needed anything done you could go and ask him and he would always help.
“Stuart had lived here for so long – it must be over 40-years and there are residents on Finavon Terrace and Finavon Place who knew him well.”
She added: “We didn’t become aware of the fire until around 8am when we saw the crews at the scene.
“The emergency services were battling to save him before he went into the ambulance and they were also giving his dog CPR.”
Another neighbour Jacqe Webster, 42, said she was “gutted” to discover Mr Smith had succumbed to his injuries.
She added: “I saw the black smoke on Sunday morning near the back of the address as I live on the neighbouring street.
“I didn’t know him personally but knew of him and I was gutted to hear he had died as a result of the fire.
“It’s just really sad and my thoughts are with his family at this time.”
Police Scotland
Officers remained at the scene on Monday.
A spokesman for the force said: “We received a report around 7.20am on Sunday, 17 October, of a fire at a property in Finavon Terrace, Dundee.
“Emergency services attended but a 79-year-old man sadly died at the scene. A dog also died at the property as a result of the fire.
“The fire was extinguished by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
“A joint investigation with the SFRS is still ongoing at this time”
“A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal in due course.”