Nearly 30 firefighters tackled a blaze at an Aberdeen city centre bar last night – and praised staff for their quick actions.
About 20 customers were evacuated from the Masada, on Rosemount Viaduct, when a fire broke out in the basement at about 8pm.
Staff managed to get them all out before fire crews arrived, while residents living above the bar also managed to flee the thick smoke.
Colin Cameron, who owns the pub, said: “I was behind the bar when I saw some fire and smoke come out from the cellar, so I didn’t hang about and evacuated everybody from the bar immediately.
“We’re still not sure what the case was, but right now it’s a possibility there was some kind of electrical fault down below in the cellar.
“As soon as everybody was out I called the fire brigade, who arrived in about three minutes, so thankfully the fire was contained to just the cellar and didn’t spread anywhere else.”
An investigation into the fire will begin properly today, once flooding – caused by pipes that burst in the fire – subsides.
Six fire engines, a height appliance and an incident support unit attended the blaze, and discovered a “well-developed” fire in the basement of the seven-storey building.
A crowd of evacuated residents and curious passersby gathered to watch the drama unfold.
One 41-year-old man, who lives directly above the bar, said: “I thought the smoke was coming out my electric storage heater at first, but when I went to the kitchen it was also full of smoke, and so was the hall so I quickly realised something else was happening.
“There was a lot of smoke in my flat, but when I got out into the main hall it was even worse. I just blocked my nose and felt the walls to get out.”
Station manager Mike Cordiner commended staff at the bar for getting customers out as soon as the automatic fire alarm system went off.
He added: “Thankfully the staff were able to get all the customers out. The evacuation had been carried out before the arrival of the crews.
“The incident commander initially had six firefighters in breathing apparatus, with three jets to make a rapid attack on the fire. Due to these actions the fire was out very quickly. However, there was extensive smoke logging in the lower basement floors.
The teams then cut away at the walls and used thermal imaging cameras to ensure the fire had not spread into the walls.
Mr Cordiner said the basement had been badly damaged by the fire and flooding, but nobody was injured. The road was reopened by 11pm.