Fire at old Ayrshire school treated as deliberate as future of building unclear

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A blaze that tore through a former Ayrshire school building is being treated as deliberate.Flames ripped through the historic Crookedholm building on Sunday night with six fire engines roaring to the scene on Grougar Road.No one was injured in the blaze and police say the fire was wilful.The building appears to have suffered a huge amount of damage with council officials undertaking 'emergency works' to secure the devastated site against entry.Further work will be carried out to determine the extent of any demolition work and/or structural repairs, building experts confirmed.Fire crews were still at the scene more than 18 hours after the fire broke out.Councillor Barry Douglas said on Sunday night that he was sad to hear of the blaze and hoped the building could be saved.Mr Douglas added: "A sad day for Crookedholm with the old school on fire this evening."I’m sure almost everyone in the village and those further afield who went to the school will be sad to hear this news."I’ve been up to the school with area commander Ian McMeekin and his firefighters are doing the best possible job to save what they can of the building. "Speculation as to how this fire started is already spreading but I would urge anyone with any information however small or insignificant it may seem, to contact Police Scotland Ayrshire rather than speculate on-line. "Thankfully no-one has been hurt or injured but it is likely fire fighters will be on-site through the night to ensure the blaze is out."I really hope this 148-year old listed building can be saved however it is too early to say what could be salvaged."A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "We were alerted at 5.54pm on Sunday, May 14 to reports of a derelict building fire