A derelict hotel in the centre of Perth was badly damaged by fire in the early hours of Saturday.
Scottish Fire and Rescue received a call just after 4.40am reporting that the White Horse Inn in North William Street was on fire.
The blaze spread to the roof space of the vacant property.
At the height of the incident six appliances and 30 firefighters were in attendance and remained on scene into Saturday morning.
Brian Robertson, station manager at Perth, said they were faced with a “well established fire” on arrival.
Units from Perth were augmented by others from Dunkeld and Dundee and breathing apparatus and jets were used to extinguish the fire.
A command unit was set up to coordinate efforts of the emergency services and aerial ladders allowed the firefighters to direct jets of water down onto the roof of the building.
Mr Robertson said as it was a derelict building they were able to fight the fire externally from two adjoining streets to bring it under control.
Sections of a number of surrounding streets including Union Lane, Kinnoull Street, North Methven Street and Atholl Street were closed off during the incident to create a safe zone for the firefighters to tackle the fire, creating some traffic disruption.
As well as dousing the exposed timbers of the roof the firefighters were cutting away smouldering sections and looking for hot spots within the building.
Local people who had watched the fire service operation said that areas of the roof appeared to keep reigniting.
A handful of nearby residents were evacuated as a precaution and taken to the Salutation Hotel in Perth.
The White Horse Inn has been empty for many years and was hit by another fire back in 2013.
Police attended at the scene and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
The fire service also coordinated the efforts of utility companies to cut off gas and electricity supplies to the building.
