Fire-ravaged Dundee building to be demolished after 'deliberate' blaze

16.11.2022 - 08:29 / dailyrecord.co.uk

A listed ex-furniture store destroyed by deliberate fire last week is to be demolished. Willison House on Dundee's Barrack Street was set on fire on Saturday November 12.

Firefighters battled for hours to bring the blaze under control and a police investigation is underway after cops determined the fire was set deliberately.

Council chiefs have now taken control of the site after it was made safe by emergency services and has concluded that the building is too unsafe to leave standing. The grade A-listed block is to be demolished, with the public purse taking the hit until the costs can be recovered from the owners.

A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “Only the exterior walls of the building have been left following the fire and these are in a dangerous condition and likely to collapse. That is why we have a duty in the interests of public safety to move as quickly as possible to demolish what is left of this once-fine building.

"Despite our efforts to consider how much of Willison House could be retained, the extent of the fire has left nothing that can be saved. Due to the urgency of the situation, the cost of demolition will be met by the council. The council will be pursuing the owner for reimbursement.

“The exclusion zone will be maintained in the meantime in the interests of public safety. The work will be carried out as quickly as possible to allow the situation for business in the surrounding area to return to normal.”

Council chiefs say the floor and roof were "entirely consumed" by the fire, which spewed hot ashes high into the skies over Dundee city centre on Saturday. Building standards officers found that the internal steel frame holding the construction together buckled in the heat, meaning demolition was