Residents of a Dundee block of flats were evacuated for two hours after firefighters smashed a door in to deal with a “mystery” fire in one of the homes.
Emergency services rushed to Thurso Crescent at around 10am on Saturday when a fire started in a bedroom in one of the ground-floor flats.
The flat was believed to have been empty at the time and firefighters had to break the door down.
Police have been attempting to make contact with the occupier since the incident.
No one is believed to have been injured and neighbouring properties don’t appear to have suffered serious damage.
Neighbour Kathleen Donaghy, a 58-year-old cleaner, said she and other residents sheltered in the back of a police van while firefighters brought the flames under control.
She said: “I came back from visiting my brother-in-law and when I came in the close I noticed the smoke on the staircase.
“I could really smell it, it was quite strong.
“I then knocked on my friend’s front door to tell her and we called the fire brigade.
“The fireman had to knock the door in as there was no one in the house when it happened.
“We’ve no idea what caused the fire, it’s a bit of a mystery.
“I’ve been living here 13 years and we’ve never had something like this happen before.”
She added: “My flat ended up full of smoke and we were told to stay outside.
“I’d say we were outside for two hours. It was absolutely freezing and raining, so we were told to go in the back of the police van.”
Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she fled her home with her grandson after smelling the smoke.
She said: “I couldn’t see any flames but I could smell smoke.
“I had my grandson with me so I left the flat and took him with me.
“I don’t even know who lives in that flat right now.”
On Sunday afternoon, emergency services were called to the same block of flats after an unrelated incident involving a man who had collapsed on the grass area outside.
He was taken home and was not believed to have been seriously harmed.
