Vintage cars, a caravan and personal belongings went up in flames yesterday after a massive fire broke out at a north-east storage yard.
Around 50 firefighters were called to the “devastating” blaze on the outskirts of Dyce, with plumes of thick black smoke seen from miles away.
An employee at Birkhill Storage and Distribution Ltd was also taken to hospital, after racing into the burning shed in an attempt to recover some of the items.
The fire at Birkhill Farm, just off the B997 Bridge of Don to Parkhill road, broke out just about 10.30am.
Owners Norman and Robina Fiddes had just arrived at the nearby Parkhill Garden Centre for a coffee when they noticed the smoke coming from the property.
A neighbour also called to raise the alarm, and Mr Fiddes raced back to see what could be done.
“When I got back I could see the whole shed was up in flames – some of them were 20ft high,” said Mr Fiddes.
“There were huge plumes of smoke coming out of the air ventilation boxes on the side and the heat melted the felt on a lean-to shed near the house.
“When I saw that going up too, I then started to worry about our house, as it’s not much further away. The caravan attached has been destroyed.”
Mrs Fiddes followed behind in a separate vehicle and said she could hear “explosions” and “loud bangs” as she approached, adding: “I was really worried about Norman. Thank goodness he was alright. It could have been so much worse.”
An employee at the site was taken to hospital however, after trying to recover some items from inside the burning shed.
Mr Fiddes said: “I told him not to go in, but I couldn’t stop him. He had tried to lift a couple of items, but they were too hot – he burnt both his hands.”
Investigations are still ongoing as to how the fire started in the storage shed, which housed several vintage cars and other personal belongings.
One man, who wanted to remain anonymous said he had lost two cars in the blaze and was “completely gutted”.
He added: “I’d been doing one of them up and had spent almost a year on it. They were worth around £12,000.”
There are three other storage sheds which were undamaged, but firefighters were concerned that asbestos on the roofing tiles could cause an added hazard.
David Meldrum, group manager for Aberdeenshire and Moray for the fire service, said: “On arrival crews were faced with a well-developed fire in a farm outbuilding, approximately 120 metres by 120 metres (393ft by 393ft).
“There was asbestos sheeting in one of the buildings just at the edge of the fire and crews were keeping an eye on that. The asbestos hadn’t cracked and precautions were taken by wearing dust masks and making sure the material remained wet.
“Crews have worked really hard throughout the morning to contain the fire to that building and an adjacent caravan that also caught fire.
“There was one casualty who was taken to hospital for treatment.”
Police closed the B997 between the Parkhill junction and the Bridge of Don until the fire was under control and diversions were put in place, it re-opened at around 4.30pm.
Six appliances attended the incident from Aberdeen, Kintore, Ellon and Inverurie along with an incident support control unit, a height unit and a water carrier from Stonehaven.