Firefighters were called to bring a second incident at a historic north-east hospital under control yesterday – just days after it was destroyed by a ferocious blaze.
Crews were sent back to the Glen O’Dee Hospital, in Banchory, at 7.20am after the flames flared up again.
Some 65 firefighters fought a huge blaze at the A-listed building after it broke out last Thursday at 11.30pm, remaining on scene until Saturday morning.
It took crews from Banchory and Aboyne almost 19 hours to bring the massive fire under control, after which the incident was downgraded.
And last night the man who oversaw the fire and rescue response, station manager Stuart Cruickshank, said there is all but nothing left of the A-listed sanatorium.
Police and fire and rescue crews continue to investigate the cause of the fire, which is believed to have been started deliberately.
Yesterday the crews were joined by a water carrier from Stonehaven and a height vehicle from Aberdeen Central, remaining on scene until 3.40pm.
Last night Mr Cruickshank said: “There was a small flare up and it had to be damped down again. It was nothing on the same scale. There is not a lot left to burn.
“In some respects it (the main fire) was challenging for the location of the incident and water supply. It was just a case of trying to deal with it and the environment around it.
“We were trying to contain the building where possible. It was a derelict building. I think, to be honest, the building is gone.
“Between ourselves and the police we are looking to make further inquiries.”
Last night Conservative Banchory and Mid Deeside councillor, Jill Webster, said: “I just have this overwhelming sense of sadness because it is such an important part of the history of Banchory really.
“There is just a big void now, that is why it would have been so good to have had the building redeveloped in some way. It would have been fantastic if we could have got it restored, and restored for some sort of practical purpose.
“It was not permanently guarded. I think it did become a bit of a target. It was a fantastic building. It was such a lovely building to look it. ”
Glen O’Dee was built in 1900 as a sanatorium for patients suffering from tuberculosis.
The building was requisitioned by the Army during World War II, and used as a billet for troops undergoing their training.
It was later converted into a hotel, then a home for the elderly before closing in 1998.