Douglas blaze drama

Monday 8.2.10

A major gas alert was sparked today after a Dundee householder threw away a lit cigarette and caused a fire in his back garden (writes Graham Huband).
Douglas resident Paul Volpin had gone back to bed after flicking his cigarette butt out of the window and was unaware of the potentially devastating situation he had caused until neighbours rapped on the door minutes later to alert him to a fire in the back garden.

The blaze had engulfed a rubbish bag left lying next to the incoming gas pipe to the house and the flames quickly spread and ignited the gas supply.

Paul, his partner Angela Dickson and their St Bernard dog Samson were forced to flee their Ballantrae Place home while the emergency services attended the scene.

Fire crews immediately cordoned off a section of the road and evacuated residents in neighbouring properties for fear of an explosion.

However, quick work by firefighters ensured the blaze was contained and the threat from the incident was minimised.

Gas engineers were called to the scene and it was decided the back garden of the property would have to be dug up in order to isolate the main and cut the gas supply.

Householder Paul told the Tele today the whole episode had been blown out of proportion, but his partner Angela was more candid about the peril they were in and thanked neighbours Nan and Bob Mulholland for coming to their aid.

Paul said, “There was nothing much (to see). There was no drama. It was like a light on full permanently.”

Angela added, “Nan and Bob who live next door are the heroes of the situation. They were the ones that let us know. It is a gas main and could have blown up otherwise.”

Crew manager Alan Park, of Tayside Fire and Rescue, said the incident highlighted the dangers of not disposing of smoking materials in an appropriate manner.

A spokesman for Scottish Gas Network said today, “It was a domestic fire that melted the supply pipe going into the property.

“Our staff are on site doing repairs which is the first priority, but no other supply in the street has been affected.”

© All copyright D C Thomson & Co Ltd., 2010