The hotel where three people died in a fire in the early hours of Monday had suffered another blaze six years earlier.
Police are investigating the incident at the New County Hotel in Perth, which at its peak was attended by 60 firefighters and 21 ambulances.
In 2016, the business was forced to evacuate 30 residents when a dishwasher caught fire.
Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have begun a joint investigation to determine the cause of Monday’s blaze.
Three people and a dog were killed after the fire broke out just before 5am, with reports suggesting it originated from a second-floor bedroom. Hotel guests and two people from a neighbouring flat had to be evacuated from the premises.
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Police were yesterday still at the hotel where a blue sheet was draped over the window where the blaze began. Investigators wearing hard hats were seen entering the building.
One guest who had been staying at the hotel described how he escaped the fire with his wife and four-year-old daughter, Tenera.
Manju Prasanna, 38, arrived from Sri Lanka on New Year’s Day to visit his wife, Chamika Niroshani, who is studying business at Dundee University. They were staying on the first floor of the hotel below where the blaze broke out. He said he heard a guest shouting that his room was on fire and so fled the building with his family.
Prasanna told the Daily Record that “people were screaming at the sight of the fire” as they ran downstairs. He ran back into the hotel to retrieve his family’s passports but did not save any of their luggage or medicine.
Prasanna said: “I sat outside the hotel with my daughter after it happened. She was very scared. People were shouting loudly.
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“It was horrible. She is still very upset but we are all OK and staying at a friend’s house.”
Another survivor, who requested not to be named, was awoken by the alarms when the fire started in the room next door. They told the newspaper: “We could only see about two inches in front of us, the smoke was so thick. I tried to help as many folk as I could but I could only see a little in front of me.”
The guest was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene along with ten others but said that they were glad to be alive.
“I feel awful knowing that folk have died. It’s your worst nightmare,” the guest said. “It feels strange thinking that 48 hours ago those people would have been bringing in the new year and hoping for a good 2023. It’s an absolute tragedy.”
Pearl Stevenson, a hotel resident, wrote on social media that she had been given emergency accommodation by the council.
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It is unknown how long the police and fire brigade investigation will take but it is likely to explore how the fire started and spread as well as health and safety precautions.
