Residents in a Lochee housing scheme say a fire that damaged a block of flats could easily happen again due to widespread flytipping.
The blaze in a pile of furniture at Yeaman’s Lane on Wednesday evening forced emergency services to evacuate part of the building.
And locals say the situation is likely to repeat if people keep dumping unwanted household items.
Various items of furniture can be seen lying at the front and rear of other blocks nearby.
One 78-year-old, who has lived on Kirk Street since 1972, says there are couches and rubbish lying everywhere.
He said: “That fire is a mess. It’s just terrible.
“I don’t enjoy living around here any more. It used to be braw with street parties and everything.
“I don’t have faith in the place anymore. I bought my flat years ago so what do you do?
“After the fire, I contacted Dundee City Council’s rapid response team to alert them to another couch that could easily cause the same issue.”
Police are investigating the fire and have not yet established whether it was deliberate.
Neighbours were forced to exit out of the rear of the building as the flames took hold just outside the main entrance.
It damaged the front of one block with the cladding on the communal stairwell burnt all the way to the roof.
The inside of some flats have been affected too.
Residents say situation could have been even worse
One woman, who lives in a block adjacent to where the blaze happened, says she is worried it will happen again.
The 33-year-old, who works as a cleaner, said: “I have lived here for three years and it has always been a problem.
“I am worried a fire will happen where I live.
“There is an old sofa lying at the back door right now so someone could do the same.
“What really worries me is if it happens in the middle of the night and people are sleeping.
“The situation last night was terrible but at least it was during the day.
“There are lots of kids living here. It’s frightening.”
Scene of crime officers surveyed the area on Thursday and took photos of the damage.
Aleksandra Czerwinska was among those who had to flee the block with her children.
She said there was “total panic” as the flames took hold.
Lochee councillor Charlie Malone says he has visited the block to check the damage.
He said: “The people that were there are incredibly lucky.
“The fact there are no casualties means the emergency services did their job.
“It looks like residents are still living in the flats affected so I am contacting the council to ask what help is being provided to them.”
Several flats damaged by fire
Sergeant Paul McIlravey of Police Scotland has urged anyone with information to come forward.
He said: “Thankfully no one was injured and the fire was put out by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The fire resulted in damage to several flats and the communal roof.
“It is currently unknown how the fire was started and we are keen to speak to anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area at the time.
“Anyone who can help is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 2839 of Wednesday August 25, or make a call anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”