Firefighters and Crieff’s community spirit have been hailed after a fire reduced one of the town’s finest High Street buildings to a smouldering ruin.
The owners of surrounding businesses were swiftly alerted and arrived at the East High Street to offer what help they could. Among them was Alastair Gourlay, of D. Gourlay Butchers, whose main business is across the road from CeeGee’s, but whose event catering unit adjoins it.
He arrived on the scene to find the shop well alight and the fire spreading rapidly and admitted he’d feared the worst.
Mr Gourlay said, “When we saw which building was alight I was fearful the fire would spread to our own shop. The firefighters were doing a great job though and we became more and more confident that the fire was under control.
“Then the roof just went and flames came bursting through and I thought it was over for our own premises at that point. Thankfully, the fire service did a great job and I think the structure of the buildings helped, too, as they’re pretty solidly built.”
Mr Gourlay opened the doors to his butchers to prepare countless bacon rolls, teas and coffees for the emergency services, residents and neighbours throughout the small hours. He was aided in preparing food by neighbours, colleagues and even CeeGee’s shocked owners, who he said had done the community proud to dig in and help at the worst of times.
That community spirit was praised by Councillor Helen McDonald as she surveyed the extent of the damage. She said everyone had turned out to help, but admitted that the loss of the building was a blow for the town.
Mrs McDonald said, “This was one of the town’s most beautiful buildings. It had a bit of character, with its feature window, and there was just something oldy-worldy about it. I’m just glad no one was hurt.”
A spokesman for Tayside Fire and Rescue said an investigation would take place with Tayside Police.
“We were alerted to the fire at CeeGee’s clothing shop in East High Street, Crieff, at around 2.50am,” said the spokesman. “Both the ground-floor clothing shop and the floor above it were completely destroyed.
“A male and female were removed from a property above the clothing shop and two males were removed from an adjacent property, but none of them required medical attention.
“Two fire appliances from Crieff fire station initially attended the incident and further appliances from Auchterarder and Comrie were dispatched, along with an aerial rescue pump from Perth and the command support unit from Dundee.
“In total, six appliances were committed to the incident, along with 32 firefighters.”
A police spokesman said the cause of the fire remained unknown.
Diversions were put in place on a number of roads surrounding Crieff, with part of East High Street closed throughout the day.
Police are appealing for any witnesses who may have been in the area at the relevant time or who may have information regarding the fire to contact them on 0300 111 2222 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Four people were rescued by firefighters as flames threatened to engulf CeeGee’s fashion shop and the flat above it shortly before 3am on Tuesday. At the height of the fire, there were appliances from all over Perthshire and more than 32 firefighters battling to bring the fire under control.
As residents spilled out on to the street to watch, the windows of the building blew out with a roar, sending glass showering down on the street below.
And just as the onlookers began to believe that the blaze was finally under control, the fire suddenly tore through the roof.
No one was injured during the incident and the fire was prevented from spreading to adjacent properties, but the building itself was totally destroyed.
It was deemed so unsafe by council building standards officers that demolition experts had moved in by mid-afternoon to begin dismantling the fire-blackened shell.
An investigation is under way to determine the cause of the fire, which residents and business owners fear could have had much more serious consequences.
Firefighters had to contend with not only the flames but also the presence of four propane gas cylinders in an adjoining shop.
A male and female were removed safely from the property above the shop before it was engulfed, while two men were helped from an adjacent building. Thankfully, none of them required medical treatment.
The area around East High Street was cordoned off as firefighters continued to dampen down the wreckage and building standards officers joined investigators. No one was allowed in the property, however, and those investigations were carried out from the street.
CeeGee’s itself has simply ceased to exist, with its timber facade a charred ruin. Of its interior and stock, nothing remained but piles of debris as water cascaded down into the shell from the devastated flat above.
Visible through the flat’s blackened timbers was the eerie sight of an unscathed breakfast table and chairs.
The blaze was the most unwelcome of presents for shop owners Kerry and Colin Grassick, who were to have been celebrating their wedding anniversary, while the owners of the flat face losing their worldly possessions.
Nigel Taylor, who lives in the flat adjoining the destroyed building, was among those who escaped. He thanked his neighbours for alerting him and praised Tayside Fire and Rescue for averting a greater tragedy.
“This could have been so much worse,” he told The Courier. “The first thing I knew of the fire was when one of my neighbours came banging on my door. As soon as I heard I grabbed a top and rushed from the flat. Pretty much the moment I set foot outside, the windows next door just blew out into the street.
“I certainly feared the worst and I was just hoping against hope that the fire wouldn’t spread to my home. Thankfully, there’s nothing more than a little smoke damage.
“I can’t thank the fire service enough as they were real troupers. They made sure everyone was safe and they’ve saved my house. I’m the lucky one. My neighbour and the shop owners have lost everything.”
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