Fire tore through an empty warehouse building in the South Kessock area of Inverness last night.
Roads had to be closed as fire crews and police dealt with the blaze on the city’s Thornbush Road shortly before 7pm.
Nearby residents reported seeing the flames and thick smoke billowing from the roof and described the emergency services as “heroes” for their response.
Four fire appliances were sent to the incident, with the fire extinguished shortly before 9pm.
A spokesman from the fire service said the blaze was “well-developed” when they arrived but that it had been prevented from spreading to any nearby buildings.
Smoke could be seen across the city.
Investigations will now be undertaken to ascertain the cause of the fire.
A police spokesman said: “We were called to a derelict building on Thornbush Road at 6.51pm. Firefighters notified us to a large fire.”
Some local residents reported that their water had been cut off as crews tackled the flames and Scottish Water later confirmed the water supply issue was due to the fire service using the hydrants.
Residents credit ‘heroes’ for response to Inverness blaze
