Experts will assess site after fire at old hospital

ENGINEERS will be called in to inspect a former hospital after the site was hit by another fire.

Emergency services battled the blaze at the abandoned Strathmartine Hospital, north of Dundee, for more than an hour yesterday.

Crews were called at 3.40pm after the fire took hold in an attic space on the first floor of the building.

The fire was extinguished by 5.08pm, with three appliances from Kingsway and Macalpine Road fire stations involved in the operation.

The cause of the blaze was not known at the time of going to press — but police confirmed they were investigating.

The site is the subject of plans to convert it into 222 flats.

Robert Evans, partner at property developers Muir, Smith and Evans — the firm behind the proposals — told the Tele today: “Some of the older buildings have been targeted by arsonists in the past and set on fire.

“They are in quite a bad state of repair now.

“The buildings were previously made safe but now the damage will need to be inspected.

“We will need to get engineers to assess exactly what state the buildings are in and to see what needs to be made safe or taken down.”

A spokeswoman for Scottish Fire and Rescue said: “There was a fire in the property, on the first floor.

“Three appliances attended and the firefighters used two hose reel jets to extinguish the fire and the crews stood down at 5.08pm.

“Police were incident.”

Last year, during April and May, there were two serious fires at the derelict site — both of which were said to have been started deliberately.

At that time, those behind the £50 million redevelopment of the site vowed that it would go ahead, despite the damage.

Muir, Smith and Evans chiefs confirmed plans to beef up security measures at the building in a bid to keep out vandals and firebugs, but said that troublemakers were “hell-bent” on breaking in.

They said that chisels, masonry drills and even sledge hammers had been used to gain access to the building and surrounding site.

The hospital was originally part of an asylum and orphanage in Baldovan, on the outskirts of Dundee. informed of the