Faulty tumble dryer blamed for fire at Crieff Hydro Hotel last year

A faulty tumble dryer is thought to have been the cause of a fire at Crieff Hydro.

Staff were evacuated from their accommodation in November last year after a fire broke out within the laundry area of staff accommodation.

A spokesperson for the hotel this week said everyone was quickly and safely evacuated.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) crews from Crieff and Auchterarder were in attendance at the blaze on November 21.

Councillors were informed of the incident when area manager for Perth and Kinross Stephen Wood presented the latest SFRS quarterly report to Perth and Kinross Council’s housing and communities committee.

The October 1 to December 31 report went before councillors on March 23.

Mr Wood told councillors the fire took place within Crieff Hydro’s staff accommodation and quickly spread to the timber-framed partition walls.

His report stated: “To prevent fire spread much of the internal walls had to be cut away, any hot spots identified by thermal imaging cameras and extinguished. The following day our fire safety enforcement team attended the hotel and carried out a post-fire audit.”

After the meeting a spokesperson for the resort said the fire was contained and staff were looked after in the main hotel.

A spokesperson for Crieff Hydro Hotel said: “We can confirm there was a fire in the laundry area in our staff accommodation in November 2021.

“Everyone was quickly and safely evacuated and the fire extinguished, and staff were gathered at our evacuation point in the main hotel with hot drinks, food and an information point while we arranged hotel rooms for them.

“The fire was contained to the building’s laundry area and staff were soon able to return to their accommodation.

“We worked with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and local fire officers to investigate the cause, believed to have been a faulty tumble dryer.

“The fire officer reviewed the incident and was happy with our compliance, processes and handling of the situation. We are in the process of refurbishing the laundry area.”