Guests were lucky to escape a serious hotel blaze with their lives after fire alarms did not sound, it has been claimed.
The fire happened at Ladyhill House in Elgin’s Hill Street in the early hours of Friday 21 June.
About 30 firefighters were involved in tackling the blaze, which took three hours to bring under control. A man later appeared in court charged with wilful fire raising to the danger of life.
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Guests – who wish to remain anonymous – told BBC Scotland News they had been left “traumatised”. A representative for Ladyhill House declined to comment, as the case was still under investigation.
Some of those who were staying at the hotel said a fellow guest banged on bedroom doors and shouted to raise the alarm, allowing them to escape in time.
One person has described suffering “flashbacks, nightmares and lack of sleep” since escaping from the fire, and being left “pretty traumatised”.
The guest said: “I thought someone was banging on the wrong door. [They were] shouting ‘you need to get out’.”
The other person “persisted” and was “flustered”.
“Then I saw smoke, I jumped into my trousers and shoes, picked up my phone and rucksack and held a jacket in front of my nose,” the guest said.
“It was thick black smoke.
“I tried to break a fire alarm but it didn’t work.
“Eventually we made it out. I was coughing and wheezing.”
The guest said they called 999 when outside.
“I was pretty distressed – we did not know if anyone else was inside. We were shouting ‘is anyone in there?’. I was happy to be alive.
“The fire alarm did not go off, I did not hear anything – I am absolutely 100% sure it did not go off.
“On the emergency call outside it would have been heard on the recording. The only noises was crackling and shouting.
“We could have been dead. I am heavily affected by this whole thing. It endangered our lives.”
The guest added: “I am questioning why the fire alarm was not working. This is about safety. I think there is a huge responsibility to have a working fire alarm.
“I still have goose bumps and shivers thinking about it. It’s not an experience anyone can imagine, it’s quite horrifying.
“I will be lifelong grateful for being saved.”
Another guest told of being in bed but “thankfully” not being asleep.
“I heard someone screaming in distress ‘fire, fire’,” the guest said.
“I ran out, I saw smoke everywhere. I managed to manoeuvre my way out.
“There was no fire alarm we heard. We could have died in that fire. This is why I am so grateful. It was that guy screaming ‘fire’ that alerted me. We could have been burned alive.”
‘Crackling sounds of fire’
The guest said: “Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night. Everything frightens me now. I am very jumpy. It’s really traumatising.
“Why did we not hear a fire alarm? We could have been dead.”
A third guest said: “I’m very sure I didn’t hear any alarm.
“I just woke up due to the crackling and bursting sounds of fire.”
A representative for Ladyhill House declined to comment on the incident when contacted by BBC Scotland News, saying it was still under investigation.
It is understood a Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service investigation into the full circumstances of the fire remains ongoing.