Dunbar fire: 'A lifetime of stuff is gone': Fishermen react after 17th century storehouse wrecked in fire

Police and firefighters were called to the B-listed McArthur's Storehouse near the town’s harbour just before 1pm on Monday. 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. The building is 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,” he said. “I was in there and I could hear the crew members shouting.

“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, Mr Mason said fishermen who use the workshops for making creels on the top floor had lost everything.

“There’s a whole lifetime of stuff gone,” he said. “Some people will have lost 20, 30 years of stuff. 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, described the damage as “devastating” for the fishermen who had 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, had nothing left and faced 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,” Mr Thomson said.

“They had expensive tools, model boats, fishing equipment, ropes and jackets. It adds up to thousands.”

Mr Lenk said the damage had only added to the pressures already facing fishermen in the area.

“The financial hit will be huge,” he said. “Put it this way, if we get a bad winter as well, I don’t think there’ll be many boats left. 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 about the fire.

“I came down about half an hour after it started,” she said. “The roads were blocked, there were loads of fire engines. 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 surrounding residents were allowed to return to their homes around 7pm after the fire was extinguished. Nearby roads were also reopened.

Eric Robertson, chair of the Dunbar Harbour Trust, said the damage appeared to be contained to the roof, but the extent was not yet known.

“It feels really sad because it’s lovely inside and we’re really proud of the building,” he said. “We often take people round to show them the construction.”

Mr Robertson said both his and the trust’s “immediate priority” was to support the fishing fleet at the harbour, including sorting temporary accommodation.

The trust is holding an emergency meeting on Tuesday evening. Mr Robertson is to meet with the fishing fleet on Wednesday to discuss further support.

He said the trust was likely to crowdfund to support the fishermen affected and would be “grateful” for any donations.

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 11 fisherman’s stores, as well as a meeting room and officers for the trust.