Restaurant boss thanks person who called 999
A Fair City fine dining restaurant might have been out of action if a fast-acting citizen had not raised the alarm and stopped a fire inside.
Perth’s North Port Restaurant, housed in a stone building dating from 1774 near the Concert Hall and the historic Fair Maid’s House, was closed for a new year break when, on Thursday morning, a small fire started when table linen smouldered.
Head chef Andrew Moss was not there at the time but someone living close by to the restaurant noticed something was wrong and summoned the fire service.
By the time Andrew was on the scene, the fire was out and the fire engines had left. His restaurant, which he took on with co-owner Karen Milne nine and a half years ago, was safe.
“We would really love to personally thank the AMAZING person/s who called the fire services so quickly to prevent the fire in the restaurant spreading and being so much worse,” he wrote soon after on Facebook.
“We have had minimal damage thanks to you, we could not be more grateful for you and for our wonderful Fire Service responding so quickly.
“If you could please send us a message we would love to thank you.”
Answering the post, retired Fife restauranteur Vivien Cairns expressed relief: “Oh no - that could have been the most dreadful start to your working year!
“Well done that Good Samaritan, and the fantastic Fire Service. Thank goodness you’re all unscathed.”
Sarah Rankin, the Kinross-based celebrity chef and 2022 Masterchef finalist, wrote: “So sorry to hear this guys. But what a relief to hear that damage is minimal and no one was hurt. All the best for a speedy refurb.”
Another North Port fan wrote: “I’m so sorry to hear this. Glad everyone is safe and damage is minimal.”
Andrew has since learned that the person living upstairs from the restaurant was the good soul who made the call and saved his livelihood.
On Friday, January 5, when the restaurant reopened, he was going to try and find them.
He believes a pile of laundry, hot out of the dryer, was the source of the problem.
The clean laundry was left stacked and retained the heat inside the fabric and started to burn.
He told the PA the fire had been caught quickly and had not had a chance to take hold.
There was no damage to the historic restaurant’s fine dining room or to the catering kitchen.
The only mishap from the fire was the door was damaged by the fire service making an entrance.
“I’m really grateful nothing really happened, it was all dealt with,” he said.
“We are open again, the restaurant was closed from January 1 until Thursday 4, so we were not inconvenienced by this incident.”
The owners Karen and Andrew and their team are passionate about showcasing the very best of Scotland’s food and drink.
Since taking on the North Port in August 2014, the restaurant has gone from strength to strength and earns rave reviews.