Historic Dunain House near Inverness destroyed in fire
- Published
A derelict hospital building near Inverness has been destroyed by fire.
The blaze at historic Dunain House, off the A82, broke out at 22:30 on Wednesday night, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said.
The building, constructed in the mid-18th Century, had been part of Craig Dunain Hospital in Leachkin.
There were no reports of injuries at the site. SFRS and police have begun an investigation into the cause of the blaze.
Six fire appliances - three from Inverness, one from Beauly, one from Drumnadrochit and one from Dingwall - were sent to the scene.
An aerial platform and a water carrier from Inverness were also involved along with welfare and command units.
Incident commander, group manager John MacDonald, said the fire may not have been noticed for some time because of thick fog.
He said: "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 about 04:00.
Mr MacDonald said: "The building suffered a complete collapse of the roof and internal walls."
He added: "Crews remain at the scene and due to the unstable nature of the building we are carrying out damping down operations externally."