VOLUNTEERS AT the Montrose Shelter charity shop in the High Street were yesterday wading through the fire and smoke ravaged premises, counting the cost of the thousands of pounds worth of damage.

All the stock, mostly donated by Montrose’s good-hearted citizens to help the homeless, has been ruined.

The fire started in a back room in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Police and fire services were called to the shop around 2.15 am when smoke was reported by residents living above the premises.

Two appliances from the Montrose station attended and firefighters tackling the blaze were required to use breathing apparatus.

They remained on the scene for two hours dampening down and ventilating the premises, which were full of smoke.

Scottish Hydro-Electric was also called to isolate the power supply.

The two families living above the shop were safely evacuated. Nobody was injured.

Assistant manager Rosemary Small said, “I was called to the shop around 2.30 am. The two fire appliances were here by then and the families from the flats above evacuated. One family was in one of the fire appliances, and the other had gone to a house down the alleyway.

“We think the fire must have been caused by an electrical fault, as there could be no other reason.

“We have a no smoking policy in the shop but none of the volunteers smoke anyway.

“The ceiling is down in the back shop and it is completely gutted.

“The back part of the main shop has also suffered extensive damage, and all the electric cables are melted.

“Nobody was hurt, which is the main thing. Nevertheless I am just devastated.

“I’ve been here for five months and we had just got the shop looking really good. The people in Montrose are so supportive of the charity.

“The cost of the damage will be thousands of pounds and that’s just the stock. The shop will have to be closed now for several weeks anyway.”