Crews stretched by recent incidents

The sprawling Strathmartine Hospital site on the border of Dundee and Angus remains a drain on Scottish Fire and Rescue Service resources and a key target for action against a tide of fireraising incidents.

Since its closure in 2003, the buildings of the old hospital have been the scene of dozens of deliberate fires alongside vandalism, theft and other anti-social behaviour, prompting repeated calls for action from local community leaders.

Earlier this year a senior SFRS officer told Angus councillors he hoped “sustained action” to tackle the problem was finally paying off.

The annual report period includes the July 2017 fire which destroyed Dundee’s Mill O’ Mains community pavilion, and was also blamed on young vandals.

Fife was hit by two fire deaths in 2017-18, including that of a woman in her 60s in a St Andrews house blaze.

Non fire-related major incidents included a river tragedy at the height of summer 2017 which claimed the life of a London holidaymaker, and tragedy on the A9 when two people lost their lives in road accidents within the space of 24 hours.

The data does not include more recent incidents which have stretched firefighting resources to their limits, including three major blazes on successive nights in Dundee in September. They included the fire which tore through Braeview Academy in Whitfield and involved more than 50 firefighters in the effort to bring flames fanned by high winds under control.

Less than 24 hours later, 60 personnel tackled a ferocious outbreak at Hilltown Indoor Market.

Braeview Academy in Dundee.