Coal dust and dark smoke was visible for miles after a blaze broke out at Longannet power station.
Six Scottish Fire and Rescue appliances and an aerial platform were scrambled on Thursday afternoon following reports of smoke billowing from the site near Kincardine.
A fire broke out on the roof of another building after charges were used to blow up the site’s disused east bunker bay.
The old power station is situated on the north bank of the Firth of Forth.
Video footage captured by members of the public showed the power station going up in flames after it was razed to the ground.
Shocked locals also reacted to the explosion on social media, with eyewitnesses describing hearing a “big bang”.
A spokeswoman for Scottish Fire and Rescue said: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was alerted at 2.47pm on Thursday, June 6, to reports of a fire at Longannet Power Station, Alloa.
“Operations control mobilised six fire engines to the scene, where firefighters were met by a small fire involving felt located upon the roof of a building.”
At one time Longannet was the largest coal-fired power station in Europe. It opened in 1973 and closed in March 2016 as ScottishPower looked to reduce the amount of carbon being released into the atmosphere.
When the ScottishPower plant closed in March 2016 it was a hammer blow to the Fife economy and surrounding communities.
The station’s demise came at a price of 230 direct jobs and an estimated 1,000 indirect jobs.
A ScottishPower spokeswoman said that another part of what was Scotland’s last coal-fired power station had been “successfully brought down in a successful controlled explosion”
She added: “Charges were used to blow down the site’s disused east bunker bay, previously used to store coal, with expected residual burning from some remaining coal dust resulting in some dark smoke being visible in the local area.
“The fire brigade attended to assist the demolition contractor as per their normal procedures.”
Demolition work is ongoing.
More than 28,000 tonnes of material has been removed from the site so far, with 98.5% of this being recovered/recycled.
Spanish train manufacturer Talgo confirmed in November it had selected the Longannet site as its preferred location in a major investment that could create around 1,000 jobs.
The Coalfields Regeneration Trust is working with Sustrans Scotland, a sustainable transport charity, to improve accessibility around the town.
This issue was identified as a key priority project in the Go Forth Kincardine charrette.
gstrachan@thecourier.co.uk
