Fire chief condemns Dollan Aqua firebugs
Mindless youths who started a blaze at an emergency exit at the Dollan Aqua Centre were this week given a stark warning by East Kilbride’s fire chief.
At around 5.50pm on Friday, South Lanarkshire Leisure staff were alerted to a fire outside an exterior fire exit door under the flumes on the north side of the baths.
Paper and rubbish had been placed against the emergency exit and set alight. The fire was extinguished before emergency services arrived but station commander Eddie Kelly has warned the culprits they put themselves and others in serious danger.
He said:“The fire, started at one of the emergency exits most likely by youths, is a cause for concern because it could have been much more serious if it was not seen and was allowed to spread.
“There have been a spate of secondary fires in East Kilbride in the last couple of months.
“These youths are not only endangering themselves, they are putting the public and our firefighters in harm’s way.”
Police are treating the incident as wilful fireraising and are appealing for witnesses.
This latest deliberate fire comes just two weeks after firebugs targeted lock-ups at West Mains Road.
Rubbish had been set alight late at night.
And back in June senseless vandals caused £10,000 worth of damage to lock-ups in Westwood and The Murray by maliciously torching them.
Eddie said: “There is a big concern for the safety of the kids doing this.”
Popular beauty spot Langlands Moss went up in flames in May after a huge blaze started by vandals left a trail of destruction.
Twenty firefighters battled for more than four hours to bring the heathland fire under control – but swathes of Langlands Moss was left badly charred and 150 metres of the boardwalk suffered extensive fire damage totalling £40,000.