Tayside fire chiefs have sent out a stark safety warning after a 93-year-old man died in an Angus house fire.
Tayside Fire and Rescue community safety manager Martin Tait was in Arbroath with Councillor David Fairweather of the Tayside fire board to pay respects outside the home of the pensioner, Hendry Lovely.
Mr Lovely died in hospital on Tuesday after suffering burns and smoke inhalation, following a cooker fire in his kitchen one of the most common causes of domestic blazes.
His death takes the number of people killed in fires in the region to six for this calendar year, with all but one of those over the age of 79.
Mr Tait revealed that of the 539 fires dealt with across Tayside last year, more than half 278 were caused by a cooker going up in flames.
He said: ”It would appear the elderly are in a particularly vulnerable group when it comes to this type of fire, and the related statistics bear that out.
”This incident happened during the day, which shows that it doesn’t just happen at night and people are vulnerable at any time. This person did have a working smoke detector but, as quite often happens with elderly people, he had not been in touch with his neighbours quite as regularly as he had been previously.
”If they hadn’t called the fire service there could have been even more tragic consequences. If the whole block had caught fire then the incident could quite easily have been more severe and we could have been looking at a number of deaths.”
Mr Tait said it is vital people stay in touch with elderly neighbours, relatives and friends to avoid them slipping into a situation where they could become vulnerable to a fire.
He added that Mr Lovely, who served in the military, had kept his house tidy, but said that very often older people leave their homes cluttered with potential fire hazards.
”When people realise their neighbours may need some help, they can be referred to us through our partnership organisations and we can carry out a free home fire safety visit,” said Mr Tait.
”Alarms save lives it’s as simple as that.”
The fire at Noran Avenue broke out at around 1.30pm on Monday, and although Mr Lovely was conscious and breathing when he was removed from the building, he succumbed to his injuries at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee the following day.
Councillor Fairweather said that after he had heard about the incident, he was determined to get a message out to house-holders to ensure homes were made safe.
”I am urging all members of the public across Tayside take up a free safety check from Tayside Fire and Rescue,” he said. ”We need to ensure we are taking all preventative measures possible to save the lives of our families, neighbours and loved ones.”For a free home fire safety visit call 0300 1239998, text ”check” to 61611 or visit taysidefire.gov.uk.