An Inverness mother-of-two has revealed she feared a fire that destroyed a derelict house would spread to her home.
Angela Forsyth, 28, said she and her husband heard crackling noises coming from behind their property at Bishop’s View, Leachkin, in the early hours yesterday.
They looked out the window and saw the neighbouring building was on fire.
Mrs Forsyth said: “We looked out of the window and the next minute the whole house just went up. We called the fire brigade and they were here really quickly. The flames were coming up towards the trees and I was thinking about what would happen if the wind blew it over. We were worried it would come down here. It was quite scary but the fire brigade were here really quickly, which was great.”
Fire crews were on-scene about 12.20am and the blaze was brought under control in just under an hour.
The derelict house was almost totally destroyed.
Police are treating the incident as unexplained and are appealing to anyone with information to get in touch.
Mrs Forsyth said neighbours in the housing development told her they had heard banging from the two-storey property, Tigh an Uilt, about 10pm the previous night and one mentioned seeing a fireball going up from the ground around the building.
A fire brigade spokeswoman said: “The fire was at a two-storey derelict building. The roof was 90% destroyed, the floor was 90% destroyed and all internal rooms were completely destroyed. The remaining wall and projections were left in an unstable condition.”
Highland Council building standards officers could be seen surveying the burned-out property yesterday morning.
A police spokesman said: “We are currently treating the fire as unexplained. Due to the extent of damage caused, entry into the building has not yet taken place to establish the cause of the fire. At this time, the area surrounding the property remains secure, with a police presence in place.”
Anyone with information has been urged to contact police on 101.