A huge blaze which broke out at a Poundland store in Moray on Friday is being treated as suspicious, police have said. The incident sparked an emergency response as firefighters fought to tackle the raging inferno shortly after 6pm on August 12.
The alarm was raised after the shop caught fire on Elgin High Street. Mercy crews, including Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, sped to the scene in a bid to extinguish the flames and help evacuate staff from the premises, which suffered 'extensive damage' to its shop floor.
It is understood around ten crews were in attendance, with one appliance remaining overnight to man the area. It is also believed it took firefighters around six hours to temper the blaze.
A photo taken at the scene shows fire engines parked on the street while workers, wearing helmets and breathing apparatus gather nearby.
One person was treated at the site by paramedics for smoke inhalation, but no one was seriously hurt as a result. Traffic was also affected, with the A96 at Alexandra Road closed in both directions. It has since reopened.
Police Scotland has confirmed that the fire is being treated as 'suspicious' - but officers are following a positive line of enquiry.
Inspector Mark Young said: “Around 6.10pm on Friday, 12 August, 2022, we received a report of a fire within a building at High Street, Elgin.
“Road closures were put in place whilst emergency services dealt with the fire and made the area safe. The roads have now re-opened.
"A joint investigation by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland has now concluded and we’re treating the cause of this fire as suspicious.
“No one was seriously injured as a result with one person being treated for smoke inhalation by ambulance personnel at the scene. We are following positive lines of enquiries.”
A Poundland spokesperson added: "At this stage we don’t know what caused the incident, but it goes without saying we’ll help the police and fire authorities in any way we can.
"We don’t know when we’ll be in a position to reopen the store – it’s clear at this early stage, there’s extensive damage to the shop floor – and full assessments won’t be made until next week.
"In the mean time we sincerely apologise to customers for our unforeseen closure."
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