Around 30 Dundee firefighters were called out to tackle a fierce blaze in the grounds of Strathmartine Hospital overnight.
Crews from Macalpine Road station were first alerted to the fire shortly after 8pm. They arrived to find plumes of smoke rising high into the sky and a derelict storage building well alight.
Group Manager Pat Walmsley said, “It was a deep seated fire in the 60 by 30 metre building and the roof. The Macalpine Road crew commenced attacking the fire with two main jets and requested assistance from the Kingsway East station.”
As the size of the operation developed, involving three senior managers at its height, the aerial ladder platform from Macalpine Road was brought into action with a further pumping appliance from Kingsway East and the Command Support Unit.
Firefighters began using the aerial platform to douse the flames from above.
Fire crews also kept the flames from spreading to neighbouring buildings, the closest of them only five metres away.
“The fire was more extensive than first thought but contained to one building,” said Mr Walmsley, adding that the operation had been complicated by the geography of the area.
“There is only one water supply in this area on the road to Bridgefoot so we had to pump water from 700m away.
“Also, all the manhole covers on the site have been removed creating hazards all around the building for the crews.”
The fire crews had the blaze under control by 10.45pm but were expected to remain at the scene all night.
A joint investigation by Tayside Fire and Rescue and the police into the cause of the blaze will begin today.