At least three businesses were badly damaged by a devastating fire on Saturday afternoon in Dundee.
At its peak, 10 fire appliances were sent to deal with the incident at China China on Clepington Road while police cordoned off the street from Provost Road to Graham Street.
Nobody is believed to have been injured in the blaze, which started at around 11am.
Paul Craigie, a worker at the adjacent Affertons funeral directors, said he was “over-the-moon” after firefighters and police managed to rescue cremated remains from inside.
“I was so worried,” he said.
“They are stored in cardboard boxes so they would not have withstood any contact with flames.
“I’m absolutely elated. I’m so relieved for the families. I want to make sure they know that all the ashes are safe.
“This is also probably the first weekend in years we don’t have a body awaiting burial inside.
“It’s hugely fortunate.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service said that by 2pm “good progress” was being made and by 4pm the blaze had been extinguished.
An investigation by firefighters is expected to be carried out on Sunday.
After starting, the flames rapidly spread to a single storey row of shops including a funeral directors and a barbershop.
Six individual businesses make up the row which is essentially one building separated by plasterboard walls.
The cause is not yet known, however, it is believed to have spread easily to the adjacent units due to the thin partitions.
A huge plume of smoke could be seen in and around Clepington Road as the blaze took hold.
The sky around the busy thoroughfare was quickly filled with a thick smokey fog, leading local residents and workers out on to the streets.
Emergency services were on the scene within minutes, evacuating anyone affected.
As firefighters fought to contain the spreading flames, the roof quickly gave way, leaving a huge hole above China China and Affertons funeral directors.
The owners of the takeaway watched on as the building was destroyed.
One, who did not wish to be named, said only that he was glad to hear nobody has been hurt.
Hours later, flames could still be seen coming through tiles in the roof, which is shared by all six shops and businesses.
Some nearby residents are believed to have been evacuated as a precaution.
