Ex-college campus wrecked as fire rips through building

THICK clouds of smoke eclipsed the night sky over north Edinburgh as fire ripped through the original Telford College campus.

Firefighters on platforms doused water over the top of the building as flames leapt above it and smoke rose over the treetops. The second floor of the derelict building was completely destroyed.

The fire brigade said today they thought the fire had been started deliberately. Six crews battled the blaze until around 12.30am. Residents in the flats and cottages behind the south campus site on Crewe Road South watched in horror as sparks rained down on their street.

Neighbours in Fettes Village moved their cars further back away from the smouldering shards of debris which they feared might contain asbestos - fears the brigade later dismissed.

They complained that the demolition site was not properly secured and that youths had been breaking in regularly.

Fire crews responded to two separate call outs at the campus last night - the first to a rubbish fire at 6pm and the second in a derelict building half an hour later. It was the latest in a series of fires at the building on which demolition work began in the summer. Miller Homes plans to build 346 houses and flats on the site.

Councillor Kate MacKenzie, who lives in Fettes Village behind the campus, said residents were very worried that asbestos could have been released from the building.

She said: "The flames were something else and there were choking fumes at one stage. Residents are concerned because they have chunks of stuff falling and they are worried it could be asbestos from the 1960s building.

"I think there is a big issue that developers should keep sites secure. There seems to be no security on the site, as this is the third fire in as many weeks."

Trish Atkinson, chairwoman of the Fettes Village Association, which includes 63 flats and 38 cottages, said residents were concerned about the frequency of fires at the old college site.

She added: "I'm very worried because there was a fire there a week ago and they couldn't find out who it was. The first one was a deliberate fire in September."

Several people said they had seen gangs of youths at the back of the site. One woman, who did not want to be named, said: "I saw a group of about a dozen there two nights ago throwing fireworks over the fence into the site."

Fire brigade operations manager Frank White said: "We were called to two separate incidents last night. They were both possibly deliberate ignitions. One was a large quantity of rubbish adjacent to a large storage area for gas, which caused us some concern. The second was a now derelict building. There was a lot of smoke, and it was affecting nearby residents. The second floor was completely destroyed."

He said there had been wood and other flammable materials in the building, and they thought some one had entered it and set it alight.

He added: "As far as I'm aware, there was no asbestos in the part that was involved in the fire. There was no danger to residents."

He said another part of the building was undergoing asbestos removal, but this was about 50 metres away and was isolated and being controlled. Six appliances from Macdonald Road, Crewe Toll and Tollcross fire stations attended. Firefighters had been forced to evacuate from the building, as there was a danger of it collapsing, but no-one was injured.

A spokeswoman for Miller Homes said two security guards were employed at the site 24 hours a day. Demolition is expected to be completed by March next year.

The new Telford College campus, on the Granton Waterfront, was opened in September by Jack McConnell.