Historic West Lothian school building set to be demolished after blaze

Dec 31 2009 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

Firefighters on scene at the blaze in Broxburn Primary School

AN HISTORIC West Lothian primary school looks set to be demolished after a large blaze tore through it.

Firefighters were called to the old Broxburn Primary School at around 1.30am yesterday (Wednesday) after residents reported a fire at the derelict building.

At its height around 50 firefighters, six fire engines and two height appliances tackled the blaze at the school which sits on the town’s West Main Street.

The road was closed between Clarkson Road and Station Road as a safety precaution on Wednesday morning as firefighters spent several hours trying to extinguish the flames.

It is not yet known if the fire is suspicious as police and fire investigators continue to probe the causes of the blaze.

And as the Courier went to press a spokeswoman from West Lothian Council confirmed part of the building would have to be pulled down to allow the firefighters more access.

The council spokeswoman said: “We currently have a structural engineer checking the building which we understand has been extensively damaged.

“For safety reasons we expect part of the building to be demolished later today.”

A fire and rescue service spokesman added: “There may be parts that need to be knocked down to allow us to tackle the hotspots but until it is safe to do so we won’t be going in.

“At the moment both gable ends and front pitch will have to come down but it may be that the whole building will be deemed unsafe.”

The school has been located at the site for over 100 years but the building has lain empty for the past decade since a replacement school was built nearby.

It has been subjected to vandalism over the years and firefighters tackled another large blaze there in July.

In August the Courier told how the Earl of Buchan, whose ancestors bequeathed the land the school sits on to the local community in the 19th century, was demanding a £67,250 payment from the council to waive his rights to the land.

At the time Broxburn Councillor Graeme Morrice accused the earl of holding the council to ransom.

This week he labelled the news that the school could be demolished as a “total tragedy” coming just weeks after the council acquired the land and had prepared a planning brief in anticipation of marketing it.

He added: “If it was wilful fireraising I would utterly condemn it and hope the police can catch whoever is responsible and bring them to justice.

“This was a potentially life endangering situation and we are grateful to the firefighters who attended.”

The council planning brief states the school could accommodate flats or townhouses “sympathetically formed within the retained buildings” while the building fronting West Main Street “must be retained”.