Firefighters have been carrying out lifesaving training exercises in a cluster of council homes earmarked for demolition.
Highland Council’s housing team will allow the fire service to use the properties in Meiklefield Road, Dingwall, for training before they are knocked down next month.
The exercises are for the local retained crews, but it will also help the local authority ensure future affordable housing is designed in the best, most safe way.
Essential fire training in derelict council homes
Derek Wilson, local senior officer for the fire service in the north, said: “This type of training, using different search and rescue scenarios within derelict buildings, is essential in helping our staff prepare for actual events within our communities.
“The exercise at Dingwall was of great value in maintaining and developing firefighting skills and we are grateful to have been given the opportunity.”
Councillor Angela MacLean and Faye Dyer, a housing officer at the council, have already been along to one of the training sessions to find out more about the challenges the crews face on call-outs.
Ms MacLean said: “It was good to see the properties be of use to the community one last time by allowing Scottish Fire and Rescue Service colleagues to train in a realistic environment to everyone’s benefit.”
A dozen homes in the Meiklefield area will be knocked down in June to make room for 14 new flats and houses. They are the first phase of a project aimed at improving housing in the area.