A blaze which broke out at a north-east farm in the early hours of yesterday morning is being investigated by police and firefighters.
Seven fire appliances from across the Buchan area were called to the scene of the outbreak near Strichen after receiving a call at 3.44am.
Two large sheds containing chemicals were burning near a house at Skelmanae, and emergency crews had to make safe a volatile canister of acetylene.
The chemical is commonly mixed with oxygen and used in the process of steel working, because it is the only gas combination hot enough to weld the metal.
Station Manager Graeme Laird said: “We were aware that there were chemicals present so we needed to be careful. Luckily the owner had an inventory of the chemicals inside the sheds which helped and we were able to get advice from our scientific support colleagues in Glasgow.
“We also had to contend with the presence of an acetylene cylinder which always poses a risk for attending crews. We cooled that sufficiently and were able to place that back in the care of the owners. The crews did an excellent job.”
A Scottish Fire and Rescue spokesman added: “Two appliances from Fraserburgh, one from Maud and one from Peterhead were joined by the water carrier from Turriff, incident support vehicle from Peterhead and the communications pod from Aberdeen at Newton of Skelmanae farm at 3.44am.”
No one was injured in the incident which was brought under control by 5.45am.
Fire investigation officers were on the scene to establish the cause of the blaze yesterday morning and were joined by an officer from Police Scotland.
It is understood that although there is not a suspicion of foul play, a joint investigation is underway until the cause is established.
A police spokeswoman said: “It is not clear how it started. There has been no suggestion either way whether it was started deliberately or not.
“There were chemicals involved and we’re being extra cautious.”
The blaze was less than a mile from the area of ground being search in the case of missing Fraserburgh man Shaun Ritchie, however police confirmed they suspected no link with the incident.
The farm owner declined to comment.