Blaze drama

FIRE crews spent hours battling a huge blaze at a Dundee industrial unit as smoke filled the air for miles around.

Five appliances were at Forties Road, on the Baldovie Industrial Estate, after the former Wood Group unit went up in flames just after 8pm last night.

Paramedics and police were also at the scene, which was cordoned off as large crowds gathered to watch the drama.

Seceral people reported hearing ‘small explosions’ or popping noises similar to fireworks coming from the area.

Grant Downie, who lives on nearby Hawick Drive, said: “I saw the smoke and came by to see what was going on.

“By the sounds of it there’s something explosive in there. I don’t think it’ll be out anytime soon.”

Another resident said: “It was near the Michelin factory.

“It sounded like fireworks were going off...it was really bad.”

Onlookers were shocked at the ferocity of the flames as emergency services battled to control the blaze.

One bystander said: “It was absolutely crazy.

“There were huge crowds of people rushing to see what was going on – it was almost as if there was a football game or something there were so many people milling about.

“Drumgeith Road was particularly busy and the police had put a cordon up.

“All traffic was being turned around but people were flocking toward the smoke, on foot and on bikes.

“I’ve never seen so much smoke – it really was pretty dramatic.

“Everybody was talking about it. You could see it for miles around and even friends in Fife were calling me to ask what was going on as they could clearly see the smoke belching out.”

Another woman who lives close to the area said: “I live round the corner and just saw the smoke from my kitchen window.

“It wasn’t the best, being so close to home. It went up so quickly, like in minutes.”

The cause of the fire is unknown, and there had been no reports of any casualties.

A spokesman for Police Scotland confirmed they were dealing with the blaze and said Drumgeith Road was closed between Summerfield Avenue and Berwick Drive.

A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were alerted at 8.14pm on Sunday to reports of a fire within an industrial estate on Forties Road in Dundee.

“Operations Control mobilised four fire and one height appliance to the scene and firefighters worked to extinguish the flames.”