It was the terrifying fire that tore through a Dundee multi-storey block 40 years ago.
Flames and thick smoke drove tenants on the 18th level out of their homes and trapped around 15 of them as 30 firefighters battled to contain the blaze at Butterburn Court.
Some were hanging from the top windows, calling for help and waving blankets.
Firefighters fought for more than an hour on March 28 1983 to bring the blaze under control.
By this time the flat at 9B, where the fire broke out at 10am, was completely gutted and the long corridor between the other flats was also badly damaged.
The heat and smoke destroyed the outside doors of the other flats and smoke billowed inside, which caused scorching and blackening of the walls.
Two firefighters were taken to Dundee Infirmary suffering from burns and smoke inhalation following the blaze, which caused more than £20,000 of damage.
The Courier reported: “Firemen emerging from the building, after the outbreak, were collapsing on to a grassy area suffering from fatigue and the effects of the dense smoke.
“Deputy firemaster Alex Winton later praised the efforts of his men, who had been confronted with a wall of flame and smoke when they reached the scene.
“The two injured men were both part of the first team into the burning building.
If the fire had happened at night, it would have been a holocaust.”
Resident Thomas Allan
“At one stage, a fireman was spotted screaming for help from a window with flames leaping over his back.
“A later inspection by city engineers confirmed that the building, made of reinforced concrete, had escaped any apparent serious structural damage.
“A housing department official said later the fact that each individual flat is encased in concrete prevented the fire from spreading to other homes.
“He could not estimate the cost of damage.”
Thomas Allan, who lived in 9E, was the man who raised the alarm.
“If I hadn’t come back when I did it could have been worse.
“If the fire had happened at night, it would have been a holocaust.
“My 14-year-old son, Anthony, suffers from asthma so there’s no way we’re going back there to live.
“I don’t know where we’ll go now but anything’s better than taking the chance of dying in that multi.”
Butterburn Court was one of two multi-storey buildings on Derby Street, Dundee.
Built in 1971, Butterburn Court was made up of 371 individual flats and was dubbed the “red multi” with its sister block, Bucklemaker Court, being the “blue”.
Tom Douglas from 9B had returned from his nightshift at 9.30am and was making himself a cup of tea and something to eat before going to bed.
He said: “After about 10 minutes, I heard a loud crackle from the living room upstairs.
“I jumped out of bed and ran upstairs as I thought someone was trying to break in.
“When I opened the living room door, my mouth filled with thick smoke and I started to choke.”
Mr Douglas left the flat through his back door and returned shortly afterwards with a neighbour who had seen what was happening and brought a fire extinguisher.
Mr Douglas added: “When we opened the living room door again, we knew we couldn’t go back into that room and come out alive.
“We just had to wait for the fire brigade to arrive.”
The 39-year-old suffered smoke burns to his nose and lips.
Alec Stewart was visiting his sister, Lily Wemyss, at flat 9C when he got a whiff of smoke.
He said: “Lily was changing, so I grabbed her daughter Audrey and carried her out to the lift.
“There were people who seemed to be holding up the lift on the floors below.
“Eventually we got down and there were people fighting on the stairs to get away.”
When I realised I was trapped up there, I almost decided to throw myself out of the window rather than choke to death from the smoke.”
A Butterburn Court resident
Lily told the Evening Telegraph the firefighters had arrived in the stairwell by the time she got dressed and made her way from her flat to follow them out of the building.
She said: “The stairs were black with smoke.
“They told me to get back inside my house and close the door.
“When I realised I was trapped up there, I almost decided to throw myself out of the window rather than choke to death from the smoke.
“The adults are supposed to keep calm for the sake of the children but I must admit that I couldn’t keep calm in that situation.”
She decided to leave the flat and attempt to make it to the safety of the floors above.
Along with others, she decided to make her way to the upper levels.
“We felt our way along the walls and up the stairs to the next floor,” she said.
“We were all standing at the landing and taking turns to lean out of the window and get some air. Everyone was coughing and choking.”
Lily was eventually reunited with her brother and daughter who had gone – with many others – to the Three Barrels pub to wait for news.
She added: “I’m not going back to live there now.
“My daughter will be staying at my sister’s, and I’ll not let her back in again, either.
“After today, I’m convinced the place is a death trap.”
All eight tenants on the floor where the fire started were eventually offered alternative accommodation on a “temporary or permanent basis” while repairs were carried out.
Tayside’s deputy firemaster, Alex Winton, said multi-storey buildings did present “special problems” but he did not see a “Towering Inferno” situation happening in Dundee.
He said: “People could have been removed from the building if necessary.
“The fire had only been difficult because of the flat’s modern furnishings, which gave off smoke and poisonous fumes.
“But there was no extreme difficulty in getting the fire itself out.
“The other flats were only affected by the smoke.
“Although to a fireman that might not be too serious, it can be harrowing for the tenants, especially if they are elderly.”
A meeting with local MP Gordon Wilson was held in April 1983 in St Martin’s Hall on Derby Street to discuss the growing concerns from residents about safety at the block.
Tenants raised fears at the meeting that they might not be so lucky second time around and expressed unhappiness with the existing safety procedures in place in the event of an outbreak.
One woman stated: “When we had the fire at Butterburn there was total panic.
“We didn’t even know the fire drill.
“The resident who was trapped the longest didn’t even know there was a safety exit in her house.”
Tenants advocated for fire-resistant doors in the property, a central fire alarm system, and fire extinguishers in every flat.
Mr Wilson stated he would take their concerns to the housing division and the firemaster, in the hopes of improving the living conditions at Butterburn Court.
Improvements were made in the 1980s with regards to safety but the writing was already on the wall and they soon fell out of favour and were eventually demolished in 2013.
Dust blew through the air and covered nearby properties in a fine coating of ash, all that remained of the two tower blocks which had stood for 42 years.
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