By Ralph Barnett

A TOTAL of 54 residents evacuated from their homes because of the gas blast risk from a scrap yard fire in Arbroath late on Wednesday were last night allowed to return to their homes after 24 hours.

Residents and businesses, including the Arbroath Town Mission Centre, were evacuated after firefighters tackling the blaze at the Bleachfield Works site occupied by R. Kelbie Metals (Arbroath) Ltd discovered an acetylene gas cylinder.

The risk of the cylinder exploding was considered enough for Tayside Fire and Rescue to implement strict safety precautions and, in co-operation with Tayside Police and Angus Council, emergency planning procedures were quickly put into action.

The main east coast rail line, which runs parallel to Dens Road, was closed until 4.30am and the 54 people living within the 200-metre exclusion zone were required to leave their homes.

Those who had nowhere else to go were accommodated for the night at Arbroath Academy before being catered for yesterday at the town’s Saltire Leisure Centre.

A spokeswoman for Angus Council said that 28 people stayed overnight at the school and 15 spent yesterday at the Saltire Centre, with others dropping in for meals, where five council staff and Red Cross members were on hand to offer support and advice as required.

Tayside Fire and Rescue station manager Roy Dunsire, who attended at the incident, said yesterday, “Acetylene gas is used in industry for cutting and welding metal and if a cylinder is subjected to direct heat the gas inside becomes very unstable, taking on characteristics similar to that of explosives.

“We, therefore, have to treat such incidents from a worst-case scenario point of view and adopt safety measures which will not compromise public safety or the safety of fire crews.

“Residents and businesses within the hazard zone which were considered to be at risk were therefore evacuated for their own safety and will not be allowed to re-enter their properties until the 24-hour cooling period has ceased and the hazard zone has been lifted.”

Throughout yesterday police officers patrolled the perimeter of the exclusion zone and fire crews from Arbroath and Dundee Kingsway worked in shifts to apply cooling water to the gas cylinder using a Stinger ground monitor.

Thermal imaging equipment was also used to measure the external and internal temperature of the cylinder.

Two people for whom the experience of enforced sitting around in unfamiliar surroundings was not particularly unpleasant or inconvenient were Hugh Murray (71) and his wife Laica (27), who were told to leave their home in Strathairlie Avenue shortly after 1am yesterday.

Hugh and Laica have only been in Arbroath since April, having spent several years living in the Philippines, and he joked, “Spending the night at the school and then the day in the leisure centre was certainly no worse than some of the delays we experienced in airport departure lounges—and the staff have certainly been far more helpful.

“Just after one o’clock we were wakened up by someone knocking at the door and at first we just ignored it as we don’t usually get visitors at that time of night.

“When the knocking became louder and more insistent I went to see who it was and saw the area was full of police officers and firemen.

“We were told to get dressed and take whatever essentials we needed for the next 24 hours and were taken to Arbroath Academy for the night.

“There was an area in the gym set aside for anyone who wanted to sleep but we just sat up for the rest of the night drinking coffee and chatting until it was time to head to the Saltire Centre.”

Laica said, “I can’t praise the staff enough—they have just done everything for us and couldn’t have been better.

“It has certainly been a lot more pleasant than the eight hours we spent waiting for a delayed flight at Dubai airport on our way here from the Phillippines!”

Westhaven Gardens resident Heather McInnes said, “I stay right next to the yard and I smelt burning but I didn’t know what it was at first.

“I then found out it was a fire and was standing looking at it when we were told we would have to get out.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.