Locals have reacted to a ‘devastating’ fire at the abandoned former Robertson’s furniture store in Dundee city centre.
Emergency services were called to Barrack Road, behind the Overgate Centre, following a huge fire in a listed building on Saturday night.
Police have described the incident as a “reckless and dangerous act of fire-raising” and are currently carry out investigations into the deliberate cause of the fire.
Photos captured following the aftermath of the blaze show the building gutted after fire crews worked through the night to contain the flames.
Dundee residents, Michael Dix and his wife Eileen, say they are saddened to see the loss of the historic structure.
Michael said: “It’s devastating, it’s a beautiful building, it’s just a shame.
“It looks like it’s going to come down at any time.
“Years ago we had been into Robertson’s furniture shop before it kind of got mothballed like that.
“There were all these grand plans for it and now it’s not going to happen.”
‘Another part of Dundee history that’s going to be lost’
Eileen said: “We were in the house when it happened last night but we saw footage online, it looked like it took hold really quickly.
“It makes me feel really sad because it’s a lovely building and it’s just another part of the history of Dundee that’s going to be lost.”
Tom McDonald and his wife Anne from Monifieth recalled purchasing furniture from the store many years ago and said it was a shame to see have seen it go into a state of disrepair over the years.
Tom said: “I’m not surprised because it’s been lying derelict for god knows how long and it had been vandalised, the windows were all broken.
“I had bought things in it as a furniture store years ago but if you leave buildings like that, young people will just do what they do.
“It’s a lovely building but it would have cost an absolute arm and a leg to do something with it.
“If truth be told it was a bit of an eye sore.”
Anne said: “They tried to make it vandal proof recently, they put boards up around it.
“I think there’s been a lot of trouble with young ones around town at night in recent months.
“I don’t think it should have been demolished but I don’t think it should have been allowed for this to happen.
“As long as nobody was hurt, that’s the main thing.”
‘It had been a fabulous building at one time’
Robert Coder, who lives in the Seagate area of Dundee with his wife Gloria, said he went to watch the fire on Saturday evening after seeing smoke from his house.
Robert said: “We’ve lived in Dundee for just over a year but we’ve learned the history of the Robertson’s building and have seen it before.
“I saw the fire last night, it was unbelievable how intense it was.”
Gloria said: “It looked like it had been a fabulous building at one time but now there’s not much left.”
“We’ve seen so many of these buildings since we’ve been here, we love the old-ness and the historic-ness but there’s just so many buildings that are getting boarded up and they’re deteriorating and then it’s costing more and more to rehabilitate them – it’s sad.”
Johanna Steele from Dundee said the fire has left her ‘”infuriated”.
She said: “It does and it doesn’t surprise me to see a building go up like that in the city centre, I’ve heard a lot about derelict buildings being set alight in the city recently.
“It’s very angering thinking who is behind this because it just keeps happening.
“It was so close to the howff as well which is a big part of Dundee’s heritage.
“I was quite fond of the building because of it’s Art Deco design but I did walk past it the other day and thought why don’t they just knock it down.”
