Teenager charged over fire in Edinburgh school

It has been reported that a 14-year-old boy has now been charged in relation to a fire which was started at a derelict school in Edinburgh where a number of hose pipes had been slashed.

Around 50 firefighters and 10 fire appliances were required to tackle the blaze at Old Craigroyston High School, in Muirhouse which occurred last Wednesday night at about 8.30pm.

An investigation is underway into the incident, with the police looking to speak to more suspects in connection to the fire and the vandalism of hoses and the tyre slashing of a fire officer’s car.

Inspector Sandy Boyd of Lothian and Borders Police explained:

“The fire and the subsequent damage to the hoses are quite simply mindless acts of vandalism, which required significant resources from the fire service and the police.

“We are keen to speak to anyone who has any information that can help us track down those responsible, and I would urge people to get in touch with us if they saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area of old Craigroyston High School before the fire broke out.”

The derelict school building, which was awaiting demolition anyway, had to be pulled down following the fire.
Councillor Steve Cardownie said:

“I have asked for a probe into speeding up the demolition of these schools that are due to be demolished so that they don’t become a magnet for morons.

“We knew this was going to happen and unfortunately this has proved to be the case.”