Firefighters tackled a blaze at a shop on Elgin High Street.
Ten crews were called to a building fire in the Poundland store just after 6pm on Friday.
Police cordoned off the area, and High Street and Alexandra Street were closed to traffic for several hours as the crews worked.
The A96 Aberdeen to Elgin road also remained shut near Elgin bus station until midnight, with diversions in place.
Crews spent hours trying to extinguish the flames and one appliance remained overnight to secure the premises and ensure the fire doesn’t reignite.
NEW❗ ⌚ 20:47#A96
CLOSED in both directions near Elgin bus station due to a building fire⛔
A local diversion is in place, emergency services are at the scene🚒 @NETrunkRoads
@AberdeenTravel
@A96RoadWatch pic.twitter.com/fFsHrfffje— Traffic Scotland (@trafficscotland) August 12, 2022
A spokeswoman for the fire service said: “We received the call at 6.05pm of a fire on Elgin High Street.
“Five appliances from Elgin, Lossiemouth, Aberlour and Buckie have been sent to the scene.”
Major emergency response
Another five crews were also called to the scene from Dufftown, Nairn and Keith and two ambulance crews attended.
However, there is currently no information whether anybody has been hurt.
A few specialist appliances – including incident response and welfare units and a height vehicle – were also called to attend.
Witnesses commenting on the incident online have reported sights of “billowing” black smoke coming from the Poundland store.
It was reported that when the store was evacuated, three members of staff helped their last customer – a wheelchair user – escape the blaze.
High Street shut down
Premises along the High Street were emptied and businesses closed while the fire was ongoing.
Rory Campbell, Police Scotland incident commander said: “We have a contained fire at the Poundland shop.
“All the businesses in the High Street were evacuated.
“There was potential of it spreading to other businesses but we have got that sorted out so it hasn’t spread to any other premises.”
He said that efforts remain ongoing but they expected to be on scene for most of the night.
M Campbell added: “There are 10 fire appliances here working on the fire at the moment.
“Everything seems to be calming down as there is no smoke coming from the area but I would imagine we will be here overnight. ”
People urged to stay away from the area
One local resident thought it was something on fire in their home before they saw smoke.
They said: “We could smell something on fire; a real plastic smell. We thought it was something in the house. When we walked outside, we could see the large plume of smoke above.”
Another resident said when she came out to see the “commotion” she was shocked at the amount of fire engines tackling the fire.
Fire in #Elgin here is the Welfare Unit from #Huntly pic.twitter.com/dlx7GNFuY9
— Elgin Transportation Spotter. (@train_spotter_) August 12, 2022
MSP Douglas Ross commented on the fire online and thanked the emergency services for responding so quickly.
He said: “Very concerning to hear about this fire and hope everyone is safe and well. My thanks to the emergency services for their quick response.
“I would urge people to stay away from this area of Elgin whilst the incident is ongoing.”
Store undergoing works since 2018
The shop has been undergoing works since May 2018 after water poured in through the roof.
Declared as dangerous, the B-listed building has been in the process of being dismantled and rebuilt.
The works were scheduled to end around December 2022.
