Fire breaks out in hotel kitchen

A hotel in Bonnyrigg, a town in Midlothian, Scotland, had to be evacuated on Sunday morning following a blaze which ripped through the kitchen.

Around 26 firefighters were called to the Retreat Castle Hotel on Cockpen Road, which is to the southeast of Edinburgh city centre, and they battled to prevent the fire spreading from the kitchen extension to the main building.

The hotel’s owner Peter Hood had to ensure that his staff members, family and six guests who were staying at the residence at the time of the fire were removed from the hotel once fire alarms alerted him to the impending danger.

Mr Hood described the scene when he said:

“It was really quite terrifying being in the middle of all that smoke with alarms bells going off everywhere. I’m still a state of shock.

“I could barely see where I was going as I struggled through the corridors to evacuate the guests, and I couldn’t find my way out because the smoke was so thick and black.

“The children were also very shaken, but they’re fine now. They are more concerned about the peacocks we keep in the grounds, which they are very fond of. Thankfully they were unharmed.”

There were no reported injuries following the blaze in the listed property, which dates back to 1640, although the kitchen was destroyed in the fire.