A derelict hospital building in Inverness was destroyed by fire last night.
Emergency services were called to Dunain House, off the A82, at 10.30pm.
Incident Commander, Group Manager John MacDonald, said: “On arrival the crews were faced with a well-developed fire. It appeared to have been burning for some time prior to our arrival, but that was probably due to the fact it was difficult to see due to thick fog last night.
“The fire was split into two operational sectors and due to the instability of the building we fought the fire from the outside. We used the aerial platform and its large water monitor to attack the fire from above and used four main jets on the ground.
“The fire was brought under control by around 4am. The building suffered a complete collapse of the roof and internal walls.”
A total of six fire appliances were called to the scene. Three from Inverness, one from Beauly, one from Drumnadrochit and one from Dingwall. An aerial platform and water carrier were involved, as were the welfare unit and command unit.
Mr MacDonald said: “Crews remain at the scene and due to the unstable nature of the building we are carrying out damping down operations externally. We are likely to be at the scene for most of the day today.
“I would like to pay tribute to the attending crews who worked tirelessly through the night to bring the incident under control and ultimately to a safe conclusion.”
