More than 50 firefighters battled a massive blaze at derelict flats on the edge of Peterhead town centre yesterday.
The three-storey building, on Kirk Street, is part of a controversial eyesore site owned by supermarket giant Aldi.
The retailer bought the one-acre Kirkburn Mill plot in 2006, with plans to convert it into a shopping complex.
But the project hit the buffers and the land, including the dilapidated block of flats, has lain derelict ever since.
Emergency services were called to the property just after 1.40am yesterday.
Seven teams of firefighters from Peterhead, Maud, Ellon, Aberdeen and Fraserburgh tackled the blaze, which appears to have started on the first floor. Crews used hose reel jets, breathing apparatus, thermal cameras and fans to bring the fire under control in two hours.
An ambulance was called to the scene amid fears people may have been inside the building. It was later stood down.
Last night, an investigation was under way into the cause of the fire, which could have been started deliberately.
A spokesman for the force said that inquiries were at an early stage and could not confirm if the incident was being treated as suspicious.
The former factory site has been boarded up for several years, but it hasn’t stopped people getting inside.
In 2011, Aldi was forced to upgrade security at the property after a spate of break-ins.
A year earlier, two other buildings on the site – known to have been home to squatters – were extensively damaged in a fire and later demolished.
Last night, Sandy Allan, chairman of the Buchan Community Safety Group, said: “There has been a lot of concern lately about properties being left empty and it is a real shame that these buildings have been derelict for so long.
“I’m just pleased to hear than no one was hurt.”
The three-bedroom flats were used by mill workers and their families for generations. They were forced out in 2005, while mill bosses were in talks to sell the land after a series of financial setbacks.