A Perth bar boss has told how he and staff raced to the rescue of neighbours trapped by Saturday’s fatal fire.
Craig Fraser is operations director at That Bar and The Loft, beside the Scott Street tenement block which went up in flames.
Craig saw residents jumping and falling from the burning building.
He helped colleagues to administer first aid and took ladders onto the roof of his own premises in a bid to assist with the rescue.
One man died, a firefighter was badly hurt by falling masonry, and a young girl is recovering in hospital.
Another 50 residents have been made homeless after losing everything in the blaze.
And nearby premises, including That Bar and The Loft, have now been told they may have to close for six months while the burnt-out Perth landmark is demolished.
Craig, 50, says he and his 20 staff members are “in limbo”.
He hasn’t been allowed to access his own premises yet.
But he says the thoughts of everyone with That Bar and The Loft are with all the people affected by the Perth blaze.
Perth fire survivors ‘shimmied’ onto roof of The Loft to flee flames
Craig paid tribute to the emergency services who rescued families from the inferno.
And he thanked quick-thinking members of staff and patrons for their role in helping injured victims flee the flames.
“I was behind the bar serving customers when someone came in and said there was a fire in one of the flats next door,” he said.
“Myself, a friend and his girlfriend went out and saw the smoke, with tenants at their windows screaming for help.
“Some of them were already starting to climb out and one girl fell to the pavement.”
Craig says firefighters were on the scene quickly but at the time it felt like an eternity.
“It was terrible,” he added.
“One family was shimmying down a drainpipe to get onto the roof of The Loft.
“I took ladders onto the roof to see if we could help them but thankfully the firies had arrived on the scene.
“My staff stayed calm and had made sure everyone had safely vacated the bar.
“We helped a policeman giving first aid to a man who had broken his arm, after moving him away from the immediate danger.”
He added: “It was an awful situation, horrendous. We just did whatever we could to help.
“There was no way anyone could get in or out of the stairwell. It was glowing amber, with debris falling from up above.”
Uncertain future for Perth businesses
A demolition team is already at work on tearing down the dangerous remains of the building.
Craig has been told That Bar, The Loft and other Perth businesses may have to close for 24 weeks.
“I have 20 staff members to think about,” he said.
“And hopefully the picture will become clearer for them over the next few days.
“We will bounce back from this but right now we are limbo.
“But all that is completely overshadowed by what the victims of the fire are enduring. It is heartbreaking.”
Perth and Kinross Council announced today it is looking into providing financial support for fire victims.
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