Hero firefighters rescued a young child as smoke engulfed an Aberdeen city centre block of flats.
Emergency services raced to the Castlegate after receiving reports of a fire in a property at about 4.20pm.
Crews could be seen running into the building with breathing apparatus, hoses and battering rams.
Panicked residents were evacuated outside and one image captured the moment a brave firefighter emerged from the building and returned a young child to his mother.
A video shows a police officer rushing into the building followed by firefighters.
Some residents were cared for by ambulance crews and stood wrapped in blankets watching firefighters try to bring the situation under control, before being taken in by the Salvation Army to stay warm.
Crews extinguish Castlegate fire
Diane Clark, 19, spoke of the moment she and her boyfriend, John Clunas, discovered smoke billowing out from a hole in the wall behind their washing machine.
“I went into the kitchen and checked all the appliances, the oven, the microwave,” the student said. “We saw in-between the crack of the boiler unit and washing machine smoke coming out.
“We pulled it out and saw the hole in the wall and the smoke coming through.
“My boyfriend said we should phone straight away. And, then the fire alarm went off when we went outside.”
“They were here within two to three minutes,” he added.
Diane continued: “Something like this has never happened to me before. I just hope it’s contained and not spread anywhere.”
Firefighters, police and paramedics all attended the scene at the Salvation Army Citadel in Castle Street.
Three appliances arrived within minutes and were joined by two ambulances and three police cars.
All of the flats were evacuated quickly and crews successfully extinguished the fire within an hour.
A fire service spokeswoman said: “We were called to fire in a property on Castle Street at 4.21pm.
“Three appliances were dispatched, including two from Central Fire Station and one from North Anderson Drive.”
