FIRE crews said there is a potential risk of asbestos from the blaze that broke out last night at South Fod Farm in Dunfermline.   

The advice to Duloch residents from police was to stay indoors and close all windows after the fire, with flames reaching up to 15 metres, broke out in a barn around 4pm.

The derelict farm site, which has been the target of anti-social behaviour in recent months, was believed to contain a vehicle and various items of rubbish when it caught light.

One appliance remains at the scene this morning but the fire is now out. Crews had been dampening down areas from a distance as the risk of entering the building was high.

A spokeswoman from Scottish Fire and Rescue service said: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was alerted at 3.54pm on Thursday to reports of a derelict building alight at Linburn Road, Dunfermline.

“A total of six appliances were mobilised to the scene, including a High Reach Appliance.

“Firefighters are currently working to extinguish the fire.”

Andy Bennett, station manager at Dunfermline, confirmed that rubbish was set alight in one of the outbuildings with the fire spreading through the roof, which has now collapsed.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said last night: “Police Scotland, along with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, are advising local people to keep their doors and windows closed following a fire at a derelict farm in Linburn Road, Dunfermline."

The Press told you last week that the site attracted 86 police calls in the past year, and was identified as one of two hotspots for anti-social behaviour in the area.

On October 5 last year, fire crews rushed to the farm to tackle a substantial fire at one of the derelict barns containing nothing but rubbish.

A total of 14 deliberate fires have been set at South Fod Farm and Calais Muir Woods in the past year. 

The site, to the east of Linburn Road, is also close to Carnegie Primary School.