City centre fire stays a mystery
Cause of blaze said to be ‘unknown’
The cause of last February’s serious blaze at a landmark Stirling city centre building in Murray Place will remain a mystery.
Scottish Fire and Rescue, in a response last week to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Observer, said the cause of the fire had been recorded as unknown as they were unable to enter the building afterwards to investigate as it had been declared unsafe.
The fire had broken out in the early evening of Friday, February 16, last year and students living in a block next door had to evacuate after being alerted by a member of the public.
Seven fire engines and 30 firefighters worked through the night to extinguish the blaze and prevent it from spreading to neighbouring buildings.
As a result of the fire, a cordon was set up around the building for public safety, and a section of Murray Place was closed to traffic until the end of April.
Police Scotland however had said they were not treating the blaze as suspicious.
But a month after the blaze Scottish Fire and Rescue batted away a Freedom of Information bid by the Observer stating that information (on the cause of the fire) was exempt under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 adding: ‘SFRS considers that there is a substantial risk that the outcome of any ongoing investigations and any related court proceedings could be significantly prejudiced by the disclosure of this information at this time and as such the public interest is weighted against its release.’
In their response to our latest FoI, dated January 9, Scottish Fire and Rescue told the Observer: ‘The building at Murray Place was declared unsafe to enter by building control, therefore there was no investigation by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Fire Investigation Unit and the cause was recorded as unknown.’
In recent months passers-by could see water dribbling into the former barber’s premises and mounds of sludge covering the floor.
Complaints had been made about the sight and smells coming from the building.
In November the front windows of the ground floor were covered up with posters featuring visitor information while discussions about repairs continued.