Firefighters have been called out again to the base of one of the north-east’s biggest suppliers of animal feed to tackle another blaze.
Crews from Stonehaven and Aberdeen were sent to East Coast Viners Grain LLP’s Drumlithie base around 11.30am after a fire started because of the intense heat inside one of three driers.
Just seven hours later, they were called out again amid fears another blaze had started in a different drier.
On both occasions, more than 20 tonnes of grain had to be emptied as crews cooled the giant containers.
The company said the intense smouldering had been caused by the barley.
“Due to the nature of it, it caused smoke,” he said.
“As a precaution we called the fire brigade. It is better to be safe than sorry.”
Firefighters used a height vehicle and hoses during both jobs to cool the grain tanks down.
In the morning, workers had initially tried to bring the situation under control when they spotted smoke from the smouldering barley billowing from the machine.
However, as the situation got out of hand they called the fire and rescue service who arrived within 10 minutes to deal with what was described as a “tricky” situation.
The Scottish Fire & Rescue Service then received another call from concerned workers just before 6.30pm, who feared another blaze had started.
Five crews attended the scene and are working into the night with flashlights to scale the grain tank, regularly checking its temperature.