A recently installed detector system helped save a historic north-east castle when a fire broke out in the building yesterday.
Firefighters were called out to Craigievar Castle, near Alford, just after 10am after the internal alarm went off.
No staff were working inside the 17th century tower house at the time because the attraction is currently closed over the winter season.
The fairytale castle had its fire protection beefed up in 2016 amid concerns some parts of the landmark could be left vulnerable to a blaze.
The fire service sent two engines from Alford and Aberdeen and crews put out the flames within 20 minutes.
The National Trust for Scotland said the fire started in an electrical panel in the shop on the ground floor of the castle.
Yesterday a spokeswoman from the conservation charity said: “The (fire protection) system was installed in 2016 and worked exactly as it should.”
The seven-storey property contains historic family portraits, original plaster ceilings, Jacobean woodwork and antique furniture.
Colin Westwood, a fire service station manager in the Aberdeenshire and Moray area, confirmed the fire was dealt with swiftly.
He said: “We were alerted through the internal fire alarm system and initially we sent two appliances one from Alford and one from Aberdeen.
“The fire was dealt with quickly by the initial crews using breathing apparatus and a C02 extinguisher.
“We subsequently asked for a further two appliances to assist with us extinguishing smoke from the rest of the building.
“The fire was out within 20 minutes.”
Iain Hawkins, the north-east general manager for the National Trust, thanked the fire service for its quick response.
He said: “The fire was small and contained and has now been completely extinguished, with only minimal damage to the area around the electrical panel.
“Other than this very limited fire damage, the door lock had to be broken to enable access for the emergency services.
“We are very grateful for the speedy response of the Scottish Fire Service.”
