An investigation has been launched into a blaze that badly damaged a historic Aberdeen mansion.
Dozens of firefighters were called to Inchgarth House, at Pitfodels, on Wednesday after flames and smoke were spotted coming out of the property.
More than 40 firefighters spent around six hours battling the flames, which destroyed the roof of the property.
The mansion on Inchgarth Road – which was built for Victorian Royal Navy officer Lieutenant George Skene Tayler – is currently being transformed into a grand family home.
Kirkwood Homes got permission for the extension and alterations last year, and work was well underway.
Yesterday, fire officers returned to the scene to probe the cause of the blaze, which broke out at about 9.20pm.
One shocked neighbour said he had originally thought someone was burning garden waste when he saw the smoke.
Bill McGregor, 76, who was lived on the street for the last five years, said: “I think it started about 9.30pm, we some smoke drifting over but it wasn’t heavy so we thought they were maybe burning gardening waste or something.
“There is big extension work going on there and they have been chopping down some trees.
“But one of our neighbours phoned to say the road had been closed by a big fire.
“It was a bit worrying, I don’t remember anything like this happening before.”
The fire, which is believed to have broken out on the third floor of the mansion, badly damaged the roof and caused the road to be sealed off between Pitfodels Station Road and Westerton Road.
A fire service spokeswoman said: “We had six fire engines, an incident command unit, incident support van, height vehicle, water carrier and welfare unit.
“The last fire appliance left the scene at 3.54am.
“There is a fire investigation under way.”
Inchgarth House was built in 1860 for Lt Tayler, who made his fortune in the Far East.
Scottish architect Alexander Marshall Mackenzie – who was behind famous projects such as Australia House and the Waldorf House in London – later built including a two-story extension.
The great hall was later partitioned to create a house and two apartments.
In 2009, the house was put on the market with a price tag of more than £1million and in 2011 permission was granted for extensions and alterations.
Last year, Kirkwood Homes was given planning permission to turn the house from separate flats into a single family home.
