Police have established that an Inverurie garden shed fire following a gas canister explosion was “accidental”.
Emergency services were called to Inverurie at 5pm on Sunday as three explosions were heard in the Aberdeenshire town.
Residents said it was a miracle no one was hurt after debris was strewn across the area – some in a play park where children were playing.
Police made door-to-door inquiries following the explosion and asked residents to share “doorbell footage” as part of their investigation.
Initial inquiries suggested the fire might have been started deliberately but officers have now concluded that it was an accident.
Fire caused nearby evacuation
It is understood gas canisters in a garden shed exploded causing a raging fire.
Homes around the property on Corsmanhill Avenue were asked to evacuate their homes.
The fire service said it was called to the incident at 4.56pm following the explosion.
Three crews were in attendance, two from Inverurie and one from Kintore.
A fire service spokesman said the incident occurred at a garden shed in a residential address and is believed to involve a gas canister.
The last appliance left the scene at 7.53pm.
Houses shook from the blast
During the emergency, residents from across Inverurie were shocked by the scale of the fire.
One resident said: “Smoke could be seen from across the whole town after the incident.
“There was a bang, while some people said their houses shook.”
One resident reported some debris landing in a nearby play park.
One woman said she and her children were in the play park when it happened.
She said they all saw the smoke first then it was followed by an explosion, and all the children there got a terrible fright.
One resident said: “The fire brigade got to us really quickly. We heard a loud bang and the house shook.
“We thought that someone had thrown over a bookcase or a TV upstairs.”
Another man said: “We saw a plume of smoke and we live 300ft from the house where the fire started.
“A chunk of propane gas bottle landed in the playpark where children were playing.”
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