Residents of Braemar have described watching one of the village’s most popular hotels burn to the ground – and the resulting explosion that was heard across the area.
Fire crews were called to the Braemar Lodge hotel at about 7.30am, after getting reports of a shed on fire near the property.
However, it was not long before the flames spread to the main building, and people gathering nearby said they could hear gas alight.
Alison Fallowfield, 60, said: “I came out this morning around 7.30am, as we usually do to walk the dogs before work.
“I came down the road and was met by a really intense fire at the back of Braemar Lodge. You could hear that it was gas that was alight, because it was roaring.”
She continued: “I took the dogs home, came back down and was just watching it, and then the gas tank went up.”
A video she shared on her Instagram account appeared to show flames billowing out in a significant explosion.
Andy Anderson, 75, described the blast as “pretty spectacular”, adding “it was heard all over the village”.
Despite living on the other side of the village, Katie Mutch, 34, said she could see the explosion and “got quite a scare”.
Only walls remain of Braemar hotel
Nobody is believed to have been hurt in the incident.
The fire did spread to the home of a man living next door, but those flames were quickly extinguished. A nearby bowling green was also covered in debris.
Braemar Lodge Hotel itself has been completely gutted, with only the granite walls still standing – a devastating sight for locals who described it as “the heart of the community”.
Barry Heuyton, 59, said he met his wife at the hotel “many years ago”, but said he felt most sorry for the people who would be losing their jobs and old owner Ronnie Moore who sold the building last year after running it for around three decades.
He said: “We’re pretty resilient up here, we just adapt. It’s like anything else if something goes you move on and do something else.
“I just feel sorry for everybody that’s involved.”
Braemar pulls together after fire
However, the fire has also been an opportunity for the community to demonstrate its spirit.
Bacon sandwiches and cups of tea and coffee have been provided to those who were evacuated, including from nearby homes, and to the firefighters who travelled from Balmoral, Ballater and Perthshire to tackle the blaze.
Danielle Irvine, who works alongside Miss Fallowfield at Farquharson’s Bar and Kitchen, said: “You need to do things like this especially in a small community like this. The least we can do is give [the firefighters] a buttie.”
Miss Fallowfield added: “All the houses have been evacuated, nobody’s been hurt, the hotel was emptied, all the residents were passed down to the Fife who were taking care of them, and the chalets as well.
“The community in Braemar always pulls together when there’s something like this.”
