Car blaze brings Wick town centre to a standstill
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A DRAMA played out in Wick town centre on Wednesday afternoon as a blazing car filled the streets with acrid smoke and brought traffic to a standstill.
Vehicles, including many campervans, were backed up either side of the incident on Wick Bridge along the popular North Coast 500 tourist route.
One of the many witnesses to the incident was Murray Lamont from nearby Mackays Hotel who – together with his daughter Jennifer – helped direct traffic away from the fire on a diversion down River Street.
The driver, Dawn Renshaw from Lybster, was in her Volvo estate car along with her driving instructor and said she had lost power in the vehicle on Bridge Street heading south.
"I just stopped behind another car and as he moved on I tried to move and nothing happened. There was a smell of burning and then smoke," Mrs Renshaw said.
Along with her driving instructor she vacated the vehicle, a blue Volvo V70 from 2003, and watched as flames caught hold in the engine. Mrs Renshaw said her daughter would come and pick her up from Lybster.
Mr Lamont said: "Jennifer directed traffic from the top [Cliff Road] and I was on River Street showing them down there. It's on a stretch of the North Coast 500, so we thought it was a good idea to keep the traffic flowing, especially now at the height of the tourist season."
Police Scotland confirmed that officers assisted at the scene, taking over from Mr Lamont to help divert the long tailbacks that had formed along Francis Street and down Bridge Street past the traffic lights and onto the town's High Street.
One young man, who did not wish to be named, said he had run into the council offices nearby and asked to use a fire extinguisher as he thought he could tackle the blaze in its early stages.
"They told me I couldn't have one as I'd have to replace it myself. I thought that was totally ridiculous."
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “We were alerted at 12.49pm on Wednesday, August 7, to reports of a car on fire at Bridge Street, Wick. Operations Control immediately mobilised one appliance to the scene where firefighters in breathing apparatus extinguished the flames."
The spokesman said that the crew left after ensuring the area had been made completely safe.
The police confirmed that there were no casualties and the wrecked car was eventually towed away by a recovery vehicle at around 1.30pm.
