Resident were forced to flee from a Dundee block of flats after a fire broke out in a ground-floor property.
Several householders rushed to safety outside the tenement in Marryat Street after smoke began billowing through the building on Sunday night.
Firefighters were called to the property shortly after 7.30pm after neighbours reported smoke coming from a ground-floor flat. Crews wearing breathing apparatus forced their way into the locked property before discovering the blaze in the bedroom.
Despite initial reports of tenants being trapped inside, firefighters found the flat empty and quickly extinguished the flames. They also carried out extensive cutting work in the flat and ventilated the building.
Nobody was injured in the incident but the bedroom of the flat suffered extensive damage.
It is understood the female occupant of the flat was staying with relatives last night.
Next-door neighbour Karen McLean said she had been alerted to the blaze by a couple walking past in the street. She immediately called the fire service and then set about alerting neighbours to the danger.
She said, “They (the couple) chapped me and said they were just coming back from the shops when they heard the smoke alarm going off next door and they were worried there was somebody in the house.
“It turns out she wasn’t in the house but I raised the alarm with the fire brigade and went up the stairs to chap the other doors. Everybody was out before the fire brigade got here.”
The 44-year-old, who was in her house with her nephew Dale Bennet (17), said the blaze could have had much more serious consequences.
She said, “I’m just glad it didn’t kick off in the middle of the night. Sometimes I have my grandson who is two years old staying here and it would have been difficult if it happened when he was here.”
Macalpine Road watch manager Gordon Bremner said, “We were initially called out to reports of a person trapped in the ground-floor flat with smoke coming from the building.
“Upon our arrival the door was locked and smoke was coming out a number of windows. After making a forced entry into the locked flat, we deployed four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus and one hose reel to extinguish the fire.
“A further two firefighters were then supplemented into the flat to search the premises. Nobody was in the flat where the fire was and a number of the residents had already made their way out of the building.”
He added, “We believe it was a candle in the bedroom that started the fire.”