MORE than 60 firefighters worked through the night to fight a huge blaze which destroyed a 116-year old hospital.
Fire services were sent to the incident at the now disused Glen O’Dee Hospital, Banchory in Aberdeenshire just before midnight yesterday (Thu).
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) were not able to confirm the cause of the fire this morning, but social media users were speculating as to the origins.
Currently, no casualties have been recorded, but the building, which was originally erected as a sanctuary for tuberculosis patients in 1900, has been ruined.
62 firefighters fought to bring the fire under control at the hospital which closed in 1998, when a new purpose building was constructed on the same site.
There have been several attempts since then to redevelop the structure to stop it falling into disarray, but none of these have come to fruition.
Speaking about the incident, SFRS Incident Commander Colin Grieve said: “There were challenging conditions but firefighters worked extremely hard to bring the fire under control and we are now scaling back our resources.”
Several users appeared to suggest that the blaze was started by arsonists.
On Facebook, Wolfie Westwolf wrote: “No doubt started by some mouth breathing, waste of skin, wrapped around a pile of bones.”
Collin Connor said: “I’m absolutely dumbfounded…a beautiful building needlessly burnt down.”
Others reminisced about the building’s history.
Kirsty Barlow said: “Oh my god! Glad we have our own wee memories of that place.”
Kate Sharp added: “Loved going to see my Nana at Glen O Dee. Beautiful place.”
The Glen O’ Dee building was one of three historic properties to feature in the BBC 2 show, Restoration, in the early 2000s.
The ten-show series offered viewers the chance to save a derelict historic building from ruin, with the winner being restored to its original state.
The winning building was the turkish-bath section of the Victoria Baths in Manchester.
In 2010, it was reported that an application to redevelop the main hospital building into 19 residential homes had been approved, but this never materialised.
