60 firefighters tackle large blaze started deliberately at former school

Around 60 firefighters are tackling a major fire at a former school in Aberdeen.

The blaze at the disused Bankhead Academy in the early hours of Friday is believed to have been started deliberately.

As a result of the fire, Bankhead Avenue is blocked and is likely to remain closed for some time.

Grampian Fire and Rescue's area manager Andy Couselant said the fire was being treated as suspicious as it appeared to have been "a reckless act of wilful fire-raising".

Mr Coueslant said: “We are treating it as suspicious – as wilful fire raising. There’s no reason why it would catch fire on a wet Friday morning but we are open to all options.

“The building has been unused for a couple of years and the council has confirmed there was no electricity supply to building.

“Empty buildings don’t tend to catch fire on their own without some form of human involvement.”

He added that crews were still at the scene at 1pm but that the situation was improving.

“The guys are still at the scene finding hotspots and increasingly are extinguishing the fire,” he said.

“It’s a complex building and it will take us a while to make sure the fire is out.

“I would imagine we will be there most of the afternoon and into the evening. We’re using firefighters with breathing apparatus inside the building now where it is safe to do so."

He said the blaze not only risked the lives of firefighters involved but caused disruption to the community and took manpower away from the service's other duties.

Fourteen appliances were at the scene from 5am to tackle the fire which is believed to have started at the front of the school.

A Grampian Police spokesman said: "We understand that there are no injuries but we are likely to be at the scene for some time yet while firefighters continue to tackle the blaze."

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