Dozens to be rehomed as fire flat faces demolition

Dozens of residents will need to be rehomed in the aftermath of a fatal flat fire in Perth.

Council officials told BBC Scotland News the entire building on the corner of Scott Street and South Street must be demolished as a result of the blaze.

Cllr Eric Drysdale, deputy leader of Perth and Kinross Council, said 50 families of varying sizes were affected and significant disruption in the area would last for months.

A man died and two people - an eight-year-old girl and a 27-year-old man - were taken to hospital following the fire, which broke out at about 01:50 on Saturday.

Two firefighters, one of whom was struck by falling masonry, were given medical treatment.

Cllr Drysdale said the building suffered a heavy amount of structural damage.

He said: "The whole building will have to come down, every bit of it.

"It's a large building with four flats above and shops underneath. The whole of it is a goner, I'm afraid.

"It's essential the demolition takes place as safely as possible and that means disruption to traffic and businesses and residents for a prolonged period."

Residents who had lived in the building will not be able to collect any possessions that survived the blaze intact.

And others in surrounding properties face "being displaced for a prolonged period", Cllr Drysdale said.

He added: "That will involve them being rehoused as locally as possible.

"Around 50 families will be rehomed, ranging from one to three or four people [in each family].

Cllr Drysdale said the local authority would have to "step up" to support those affected, and asked any landlords with available properties to contact the council if they could help.

Roads around the area will likely be closed for months.

On Sunday Kieran Gibson and partner Ellen Fulton told BBC Scotland News that they lost nearly all their possessions in the fire, and were staying with family members.

Mr Gibson said he feared having to make the choice between jumping out the window and staying in the flat and risking being burnt to death as the flames took hold.

The couple were rescued about 25 minutes after raising the alarm with emergency services.

Cllr Drysdale said it was still too early to speculate on the cause of the fire.

A temporary rest centre has been set up at the city's North Inch community campus.

Crews from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service worked through the night into Saturday morning to extinguish the flames.

A joint investigation into the fire has been launched by Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Ch Supt Nicola Russell said the force was reviewing CCTV and speaking to residents and urged anyone with information to get in touch.