BALLATER residents have been left “dumbfounded” after it took more than an hour for emergency services to respond to fires at a property.
Emergency services were called out to a blaze at a property in Swann Place on Saturday afternoon, where two homes were destroyed and a third was damaged.
Terry Gauld, who was evacuated from his home in the area, told The National that “everyone was dumbfounded” by how long it took fire crews to attend the scene.
He said “without a doubt, had there been a quicker response” only one of the properties would have been fully engulfed by flames. It took responders nearly six hours to extinguish the fire after they arrived.
Ballater fire services were busy tackling a wildfire in the Highlands, meaning Swann Place residents had to rely on Aberdeen-based fire crews based over an hour away.
“The whole of Deeside was left without cover,” Gauld said, and explained that whilst there were a few community firefighters on the scene, there was “nothing they could do” since their equipment was in use elsewhere.
“I could see the frustration on their faces,” he added.
Four other homes were evacuated due to the thick plumes of smoke from the fire, and nearby residents were warned to keep their doors and windows closed.
Guald was one of the Swann Place occupants told to leave the area and he told The National that there was oil burning all down the road due to a tank in one of the destroyed properties exploding.
He was able to return to his undamaged house around 8pm, though he was left without power until well after midnight.
There were no injuries reported as a result of the fire. According to reports from The Press and Journal, a police inquiry into the cause of the blaze is currently ongoing.
