By Graeme Strachan and Claire McCormack

A HUGE FIRE that swept through a Dundee takeaway restaurant in the early hours of yesterday morning was so destructive the building is unlikely to survive.

The two-storey property has been declared unsafe and it may be days until investigators can get inside to determine the cause of the blaze.

The fire started at New Chachies takeaway on Hilltown around 2.45am and raged until 5.30am, destroying the shop and two units on either side that were being used for storage.

Detective Sergeant Kevin McMahon of Tayside Police CID said, “It may end up being condemned.

“At the moment we can’t give a cause but it doesn’t look suspicious.

“The building will have to be made safe before an investigation can be undertaken. The city engineer is hoping that will be in the next couple of days.”

Firefighters discovered a well-developed blaze on arrival.

As the building was too dangerous to enter, high- pressure jets were trained through the windows in the battle to quell the blaze while an aerial ladder was used as a water tower to douse the flames from above.

The fire ripped through the roof of the building and firefighters protected the gables with spray jets on either side of the building.

Firefighters also forced entry into the adjoining Indian restaurant Mela and thermal imaging cameras were used to monitor heat coming through the walls.

At the height of the fire, six pumps were in attendance, an aerial ladder was brought into action, and two ground monitors and five jets were used to douse the flames.

Group manager David Stapley said, “We got a report of a fire in a shop, which was identified by two policemen on the beat who noticed smoke coming out of the shop.

“When we arrived we discovered a well-developed fire exiting the windows at the front and back of the shop.

“When the fire came through the roof at about 3.30am, we tackled it using the aerial platform with monitors.

“We were still using the four jets to cool the gable ends.

“The roof was burnt off and the floors had all collapsed.

“The information we have is that the shop had only been closed for 45 minutes previous to the fire starting.”

Police closed Hilltown to traffic between Constitution Street and Stirling Street.

Fencing was erected around the site to ensure the safety of the public and the road was reopened again yesterday afternoon once firefighters left the scene after damping down the building.

Mohammed Gaffar, owner of the adjoining Mela, was forced to close his restaurant yesterday following the fire.

“We’ve suffered water damage to the floor, smoke damage, and our electricity supply is cut off,” he said.

“We’ve had to close and it’s devastating because it’s a busy time for us.

Firefighters broke into Mr Gaffar’s restaurant to fight the blaze.

“If it had raged for another half-an-hour it could have been us on fire as well,” he said.

“I’m going to speak to my insurance company but the damage could run into thousands.

“We’ve been in business for 11 years but we won’t be able to open until we get the okay from the police.”

The owners of New Chachies could not be contacted for comment last night.