Family ‘trapped in flat’ by smoke as firefighters tackled Perth building blaze

One family was left “trapped” inside their home during a dramatic blaze at a block of flats in Perth.

Emergency services were called to the eight-storey building on Pomarium Street at about 9.10pm on Sunday after a blaze took hold in a ground floor cellar used to store bins.

Seven fire and rescue appliances were called to the scene, with about 30 residents evacuated from the building.

One man was treated for smoke inhalation.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said one family was left “effectively trapped” in their property by smoke during the incident.

Firefighters had to issue “survival guidance” before eventually reaching them.

One resident had to stay in temporary accommodation after being left without electricity following the blaze.

A fire and rescue spokeswoman said: “We were alerted at 9.12pm on Sunday, December 22 to reports of a fire at a block of flats in Perth.

“The fire had taken hold within a ground floor room used to store household bins which resulted in residential areas above being heavily smoke logged.

“Operations control mobilised a total of eight fire appliances to the building in the city’s Pomarium Street and around 30 residents were evacuated.

“Crews then extinguished the fire. A male casualty suffering the effects of smoke inhalation was transferred into the care of the ambulance service.

“The operations control team also provided fire survival guidance to a family who were effectively trapped in their flat by the smoke. Firefighters thereafter reached the family.

“Crews ensured the area was made safe before leaving the scene at 11.55pm.”

A statement posted to the Perth and Kinross Council Tenants Facebook page reads: “There was a small fire last night at Pomarium flats in Perth, which was confined to one of the cellar areas.

“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended and quickly dealt with the incident. The fire didn’t affect of the flats but one person had to be provided with accommodation overnight due to having no electricity within their property.

“Housing staff attended last night to check the situation and are still on site today to carry out welfare checks and offer reassurance to residents.”

Firefighters could be seen on the cherry-picker extended to the top of the building as they dealt with the blaze.

A local bus station was closed and used as a staging point for paramedics and response teams.

Police were also called to the scene.