A major investigation has been launched after a series of fires swept through a Fife papermill.
Fire crews were called out to tackle the incident at Tullis Russell Papermakers in Markinch shortly before 3.45am on Tuesday after night doormen spotted flames coming from a warehouse.
On arrival, police and fire service personnel quickly established there were a number of separate outbreaks prompting fears that the blaze is likely to have been started deliberately.
Police confirmed they were treating the fires as suspicious and are working closely with the fire service as part of what is expected to be an extensive investigation.
Luckily no one was injured, but more than 40 firefighters were involved in fighting the blaze at its height, while a substantial quantity of paper is understood to have been destroyed.
Detective Sergeant Graeme Dursley appealed to anyone who may have been in the area in the hours before the incident and saw something suspicious to come forward.
He said: ”It is too early to speculate on the cause of the fires at this time. However, as there a number of seats of fire, the incident is being treated as suspicious.
”Fire officers are still currently working within the area and a joint inquiry with Fife Constabulary will be carried out to ascertain the cause.”
He added: ”I would ask that if any person has information about this incident or saw anyone in the vicinity of the complex between 2am and 4am to contact Fife Police.”
Most of the fire was brought under control as dawn broke, but the fire service were still on the scene for several hours afterwards to contain a fire in a raw material warehouse.
Workers at the factory were also drafted in to try to bring the incident to a speedy end by removing paper bales from the site with a fork-lift truck.
Eight appliances from Glenrothes, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, Methil and Lochgelly were called out when the fire broke out, although a specialist height appliance and control unit were also needed as the morning wore on.
Tullis Russell managing director Steve Moss paid tribute to emergency services for their quick response time, which he believes kept damage at the site to a minimum.
He said: ”It is too early at this stage to assess the extent of any damage or to speculate as to the possible cause of the fire. However, thankfully no employees or members of the emergency services have been injured in dealing with the incident and at this point the main plant and equipment at the mill is believed to be undamaged.”
Mr Moss added that the mill is on its Christmas shut period and confirmed that the alarm was raised by security staff.
The incident comes just four months after a smaller fire broke out at the mill and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage. On that occasion in August, six fire engines spent an afternoon bringing a fire in the mill’s production site under control.
That blaze is thought to have been caused by demolition work and led to only a small loss of work-in-progress paper.
Anyone who may have information about the fire should call Fife Constabulary on 0845 600 5702 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, where all calls are treated anonymously.