'It was the scariest thing I've ever been through' says Inverness woman who fled fire
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An Inverness woman says she's at "the end of her tether" after what she claims to be a slow response to a catastrophic fire that ripped through the block of flats she lives in.
The Alltan Court building, in the Culloden area, went up in flames on February 15 this year with cause being put down as accidental.
Home to eight tenants, five months on the building is still left with broken windows, ruined carpets, soot-filled and peeling walls. The worst-affected flat is still completely charred on the inside after being ravaged by the fire.
It is the latest example of the Highland housing crisis where people are struggling to find places to live due to lack of supply, high rental costs and long waiting lists.
Recalling the morning drama, Karen Doonan (54), who works in administration for the NHS and has rented her home in Alltan Court for two years, said: “I woke up at 9.30am, my son James (22) was in his bedroom. I heard the alarm go off in the stairwell, and when I opened my front door the lassie that stays across from me was there standing in the hall phoning the fire brigade, and she kept saying to me: ‘There’s flames’.
"I closed that door again, waited five minutes for my son to put his clothes on. When I opened that door again – there was nothing. You couldn’t see anything, there was only black. There were no lights coming on, no anything.
“My downstairs neighbour ran into the building to open up the front door, which you’re told you should never do – but if she hadn’t opened up the front door, we would never have been able to get out.
“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through in my life.”
“It didn’t get ice-blasted to clean the carbon dioxide until the end of March – more than a month on from the fire. This is what we were left with for a month before they even cleaned it.
“We’ve only had electricity and lights in the stairwell in the last couple of months. You’ve got no lights that come on. Before it was cleaned there was melted stuff around and debris was still on the floor – we actually hoovered up, which we shouldn’t have, but we just couldn’t stand the mess being left here.
“The carpet in my flat has to go, because they tested it and all the soot has just gone to the bottom of it – but the carpet and the curtains belong to the landlord, so it should be covered by First Port.
“The smashed windows in the stairwell don’t close – it was a struggle just getting them to put something over the heat-cracked windows, but we knew they were going to break. Nothing gets cleaned, no cleaner has been here since it happened, but we’re still paying factor’s fees. It feels like they’ve forgotten about us.
“Other tenants in the building say they have been told that some of their fire doors might not be replaced. I’ve been told that all the fire doors have to be replaced because the building has been on fire.”
Karen said on the day of the fire, the fire alarm was only going off in the flat where the fire started. She said: “When my downstairs neighbour has her fire alarm going off, I can’t hear it at all. The only reason I heard the fire alarm on the day of the fire, is because my window and my neighbour’s windows were open.
“We’re almost numb to the damage now, but when people come in here the first thing they notice is the smell of soot. We’re at the end of our tether, and nobody seems to be bothered. I keep asking the questions, but nobody ever answers me.”
One of the flats, which was irreparably damaged by the fire and is now empty, is understood to still have all the furniture ravaged by the fire inside.
Karen explained how beeping sounds are similar to the fire alarm take her back to her traumatic experience.
She said: “It was bad enough with the microwave beep, or if somebody’s car alarm went off out there. We couldn’t watch anything on TV. We didn’t sleep for about three weeks after the fire.
“First Port are working on the theory that this will never happen, but if you go on their website it’s lovely and glossy.”
First Port said it had carried out relevant safety checks on the building within the past year, as according to regulations.
A spokesperson for the business added: “As part of the insurance process, a loss adjuster has been appointed and they are continuing to provide regular and comprehensive updates to residents. We remain in contact with the relevant parties to ensure that remedial works can begin as soon as possible, and we are providing support to residents where needed. We recognise that this has been a longer process than expected but we are hopeful that work will begin later this summer.
“The safety of our residents is our top priority and the fire safety measures at the development continue to be proactively managed and kept up to date. Unfortunately, the fire at Alltan Court earlier this year did cause extensive damage to the affected flat and into the communal areas when the flat front door was left open as the property was evacuated. We recognise that incidents of this nature can be worrying, and if residents have any concerns or questions, their property manager is available to discuss this further.”
