Dundee City Council has been urged to improve its emergency response communications following last week’s massive fire at a block of flats in Garland Place.
The blaze rendered more than a dozen people homeless, and while the council responded well to their immediate needs some of those affected say they were left wondering where to go for help in the days following.
Marta Smart, whose traumatised friend came to live with her following the fire, called for a dedicated hotline for people to call in the aftermath of emergencies.
She said she was on the phone for two days trying to get things sorted and at first no one from the council seemed able to help.
”I spent two days phoning round all the agencies to see what help she could get,” said Marta, who lives in Constitution Terrace. ”The day after the fire I phoned the council first and was passed from pillar to post the receptionist didn’t know where to put my call.
”I was put through to four different departments who returned me to the receptionist and, after finally being put through to the housing department, a senior official helped me.
”The thing is these people have just been through a traumatic experience and can be very vulnerable and they don’t know their rights. I do and so it’s OK for me, but even the council didn’t know what help they were entitled to.
”I had to go through hoops trying to find out.”
Marta added: ”The council response on the night of the fire was second to none, but for people who didn’t go with them and went to stay with friends there wasn’t even a leaflet or a card to explain what to do next.”
Joe FitzPatrick MSP said: ”While it is extremely fortunate that no lives were lost thanks to the remarkable efforts made by the firefighters who attended the scene, the destruction to property caused by this fire is a tragedy for each and every one of those affected.”
”Obviously there are a significant number of agencies involved in dealing with such an emergency. I’m pleased to hear that individually they appear to be responding well, however, as is always the case, we need to look to see what lessons can be learned for the future, particularly in how these agencies cooperate with one another.
”The suggestion that we develop a single point of contact to assist those affected by events like this is one that I think should be pursued and this is something that I will be discussing with the council and the various other agencies involved.
”Right now the priority is to resolve individuals’ particular issues as quickly as possible.”
Housing convener Jimmy Black agreed, saying: ”We will be looking into the problems that Marta had and I think what she is suggesting is a good idea. We as a council have a statutory obligation to rehouse people, even private tenants, where they are homeless but clearly some people are unaware of this.
”We have a social work emergency number and a repairs helpline and the individual helplines seem to be working but maybe we need to look at our co-ordination of emergency situations and maybe a dedicated general emergency number is what is required.”