The Dundee Museum of Transport was closed on Wednesday after a “dramatic” fire at an abandoned abattoir nearby.
A blaze ripped through an empty building just off Broughty Ferry Road on Tuesday night.
Police remained at the scene on Thursday and while firefighters have now left, they continue to monitor the site.
The fire did not spread to the museum, home to various historical exhibits, but it was closed as surrounding roads were blocked.
Residents described hearing a “huge explosion” as a roof collapsed whilst large plumes of smoke billowed into the air.
Those living nearby said the fire escalated quickly as 10 fire engines were dispatched to the blaze, near the junction with Market Street.
Kathleen McDermott who has lived in the area for nearly 30 years said she was “dumbfounded” by the extent of the fire.
The 78-year-old said: “It was initially the flashing lights that alerted me as the blinds were down.
“When I looked out there was thick smoke and it was blowing towards Broughty Ferry.
“Our family came over just to make sure we were fine.
“When they arrived I thought it was the fire service going to evacuate us.”
She added: “It was a dramatic blaze and it seemed to spread extremely quickly.
“From what we could see it started away off at the right-hand side.
“Within 20 minutes it had quickly penetrated the rest of the building.
“I was dumbfounded by how quickly it went up – thankfully it appears no one was injured.”
Another resident who did not wish to be named said plain-clothed police officers had been at the scene on Wednesday morning.
He said: “The fire service have been on an aerial appliance this morning looking over the site.
“Just before 10am they were still spraying down parts of the building.
“There was a huge explosion last night and the roof came falling down.
“During the investigation I saw plain-clothed police officers being taken down to the site by some of the firefighters.”
Dundee Museum of Transport closed after fire
Peter Webber, a trustee at the transport museum said they “feared the worst” as initial pictures emerged of the fire last night.
He said: “We first got news at around 9.45pm on Tuesday of the fire.
“Some of us came down on Tuesday night just to check whether the museum was in danger.
“Looking at the initial pictures we feared the worst.
“We were satisfied by the time we left the fire was nowhere near our building.
“We came back on Wednesday morning just to confirm that everything was OK with our building and our collection.
“Normally we would open at 10am.”
The museum reopened on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were alerted at 9.01pm on Tuesday to reports of a fire affecting a derelict building on Broughty Ferry Road, Dundee.
“At its height, operations control mobilised 10 appliances, including specialist resources, to the scene.
“There are no reported casualties.”
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