It was the ultimate destination for a fire.
Around forty firefighters tackled a blaze at North Berwick fire station in East Lothian this morning.
The building and two fire engines that were housed inside it were badly damaged by the fire.
The alarm was raised at 5.20am with a report of smoke coming from the building. When retained crews arrived at the station the building was on fire, with heavy smoke coming from the premises.
They were unable to access the station safely and immediately requested further assistance from neighbouring stations.
Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service is currently trying to establish the cause of the fire.
A spokeswoman said: “It is too early to say what the cause of the fire was. Our main priority this morning was to get the fire extinguished and make sure that the building was safe.
“We are also trying to investigate alternative locations for the North Berwick Fire Station as it is not fit for purpose now and cannot be used for the foreseeable future.
“Another crew will be covering North Berwick tonight and for the next couple of days until we can work out where North Berwick can mobilise from.
“There has been no effect to service delivery.”
The blaze also caused problems for commuters trying to access North Berwick train station, which is behind the building.
Crews from East Linton, Haddington, Dunbar, Newcraighall, Tranent, an Incident Support Unit from Marionville, a Command Support Unit from Liberton and a height appliance from McDonald Road all attended at the scene.
The two appliances from within the station were removed when firefighters were mobilised but were damaged by the fire.
The fire station itself was also badly damaged by the blaze.
A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said: "When retained crews first arrived at the scene the station was well alight and they were unable to safely access the building immediately requesting more resources to the scene.
"A risk assessment was carried out and as smoke was blowing towards the sea it was deemed safest to leave residents in a nearby housing estate indoors and clear from the worst of the smoke and the cold weather.
"Our business continuity plans have been activated to ensure that there is adequate cover in the immediate area given that North Berwick fire station has been significantly damaged."
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