Garage owner flees as fire engulfs workshop

AN INVERNESS garage-owner has been left counting the cost after accidentally setting his own workshop on fire.

Sala Ali had been welding a customer’s vehicle when the blaze broke out at The Tyreshop in the Highland capital’s Lotland Street. He tried to douse the flames with water but was eventually forced to flee his premises in the Longman Industrial Estate when the fire became too fierce. Clouds of thick smoke could be seen from across the city as the fire raged.

Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service (HIFRS) crews spent more than five hours tackling it. However, the building and its contents were destroyed, as well as three cars and a van that were inside the premises.

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