Tayside Fire and Rescue Christmas call-outs

Jan 1 2010 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

A COTTAGE at Enochdhu, near Kirkmichael, was destroyed by fire last Saturday, although fortunately no one was in the building at the time.

The alarm was raised by a neighbour at around 1.30pm and local firefighters from Kirkmichael quickly arrived at Tigh na Croft but the fire had already taken hold.

The local firefighters were joined by units from Blairgowrie, Pitlochry and Perth, and they managed to salvage many personal belongings from the ground floor.

Rab Middlemiss, station manager at Perth for Tayside Fire and Rescue, said the fire could have started when a phone charger, and electric blanket and a portable heater were all switched on in a first-floor bedroom, while all the occupants of the cottage, a Christmas family gathering of 10 people, had gone out of the property.

He urged all householders to make sure electrical appliances were switched off before leaving their homes or going to bed.

Another major incident attended by Tayside Fire and Rescue in Perthshire was the collapse of a roof of a farm building housing 18 calves.

It is believed the weight of snow caused the roof collapse at Inner Dunning Farm at about 1pm on Sunday.

A Dundee-based Tayside Fire and Rescue crew trained in structural collapse rescues were assisted by personnel from Perth Fire Station in an eight-hour operation which resulted in all 18 calves, aged from two days to six weeks, being rescued uninjured from the badly-damaged building.