Copyright scotsman
Fishermen and residents at a harbour in Dunbar have spoken of their devastation after a 17th century fisherman’s storehouse was ravaged by a fire on Monday afternoon. Police and firefighters were called to the B-listed McArthur's Storehouse near the town’s harbour just before 1pm on Monday, as onlookers witnessed scenes of black smoke and flames billowing from the roof of the building. The fire has now been extinguished and investigations are underway to reveal the extent of the damage to the historic storehouse, still used today by fishermen at the harbour to make creels and store their tools and equipment. Fisherman Sam Mason, 36, was working in the storehouse when the fire alarm sounded and was first to alert the harbour master. “The bottom left hand store is mine. I was in there and I could hear the crew members shouting,” said Mr Mason. “I came outside and saw smoke coming out of the roof. I immediately ran upstairs to make sure no one was up there. “There was smoke in the top corridor and I could hear the embers falling on top of the ceiling. By the time I came out again it was a proper blaze.” Mr Mason then phoned the harbour master to get them to call the fire brigade. While he was lucky not to lose anything because of the position of his storeroom, he said fishermen who use the workshops for making creels on the top floor have lost everything. “There’s a whole lifetime of stuff gone. Some people will have lost twenty, thirty years of stuff,” he said. “They’re just going to have to start from scratch. They’ve lost everything. “They have to continuously make creels. They’ve got nowhere to do that now - they’ve not got anywhere else to go.” Callum Thomson and Michael Lenk, who also work at the harbour, said the damage is “devastating” for the fishermen who have lost their tools and equipment in the fire. Mr Thomson said those working on the top floor, two of whom were young men who had recently started working there, have nothing left and face huge costs to replace their equipment. “One of them had 150 brand new creels, each which were around £70 each. And that’s just the creels,” he said. “They had expensive tools, model boats, fishing equipment, ropes and jackets. It adds up to thousands.” Mr Lenk said the damage has only added to the pressures already facing fishermen in the area. “The financial hit will be huge. Put it this way, if we get a bad winter as well, I don’t think there’ll be many boats left,” said Mr Lenk. “It’s that bad.” After the fire broke out, residents in the nearby Custom House Square were evacuated as a precautionary measure. Shore Street and Lamer Street were also closed to pedestrians and vehicles. One resident, 63-year-old Isabel McLaren, was out at the time but said it was her neighbour who called her to tell her what had happened. “I came down about half an hour after it started. The roads were blocked, there were loads of fire engines,” said Ms Mclaren. “They had come and told us that we might be evacuated, and then a few minutes later they came back and said you need to go. “We were just really lucky the wind was in the right direction. If the wind had been in the other direction then they think we would have lost some houses.” Ms Mclaren and the other residents were allowed to return to their homes at around 7pm after the fire was extinguished, and the roads were also reopened. Eric Robertson, Chair of the Dunbar Harbour Trust, said at present the damage appears to be contained to the roof, but the extent of the damage is yet to be known. “It feels really sad because it’s lovely inside and we’re really proud of the building. We often take people round to show them the construction,” said Mr Robertson. He said his and the trust’s “immediate priority” is to support the fishing fleet at the harbour, including sorting temporary accommodation for them. The trust is holding an emergency meeting on Tuesday evening and Mr Robertson is to meet with the fishing fleet on Wednesday to discuss how it can support them. He said the trust is likely to crowdfund to support the fishermen affected and would be “grateful” for any donations from the community. He said volunteers may also be needed to help the effort. The storehouse was built in 1658 using timber from condemned boats and shipwrecks. It is one of the oldest industrial buildings in Scotland, having in the past been used as a store for grain, herring and potatoes. The building was renovated by the Dunbar Harbour Trust and now houses eleven fisherman’s stores, as well as a meeting room and officers for the trust.
