A fire investigations officer said “it was unlikely” that a discarded cigarette had led to a fire at the former Waverley Hotel in Perth owned by businesswoman Ann Gloag.
Simon Guyan, 46, a watch manager with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, was giving evidence at the trial at Perth Sheriff Court of James McCrory, of Greyfriars Hostel, 20, and Liam Gall, 18, of Ochil Cottage, both Perth.
Following submissions from defence solicitors Cheryl McKnight and Rosie Scott, Sheriff Gillian Wade agreed that there was no case to answer for the pair against a charge that they wilfully set fire to pieces of paper and other flammable materials on the hotel’s second floor, whereby the fire took effect and the hotel and its contents were damaged.
The pair face an amended alternative charge that they culpably and recklessly set fire to pieces of paper, furniture and other flammable items within a second-floor room, causing a fire that damaged the hotel and its contents.
Both McCrory and Gall deny the charge.
Mr Guyan told the court he had identified former private staff living quarters on the second floor as the ‘room of origin’ of the blaze at the derelict hotel on November 17 2015.
Mr Guyan said an investigations team, that included a police crime scene manager and forensic chemist, observed the “fire had spread rapidly”.
He concluded it had been started deliberately, probably by a “naked flame” used on some materials, which led to a hole in the room’s floor.
“It is unlikely this fire was caused by a cigarette,” he said.
“We did find a small metal canister of lighting fluid but it was so badly damaged you couldn’t say if it had caused the fire. There would have had to have been smouldering material for a cigarette to have caused the fire.
“There was evidence of deeply charred timbers and joists from the former private staff living room to show a fire had burned intently there and thereafter spread to the roof.”
Mr Guyan also disclosed that the fire investigations team saw empty cans of alcohol and evidence of drug paraphernalia inside the building.
The trial also heard from Detective Sergeant Keith Duncan, 36, based at Perth Police HQ, who read from a transcript of an interview with Gall that the accused told him he and McCrory were inside the hotel smoking cigarettes, which they then “threw away” on some doyleys (napkins) in a “living-room” area.
Mr Duncan said Gall had told officers he then left the building to “watch smoke” from the AK Bell Library across the road around 9.30pm.
The detective told the court that Gall had said “we didn’t mean to set anything on fire.”
The court had earlier heard from Michael Rumgay, 40, watch manager with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in Perth, who said firefighters could see smoke from their fire station rise from the former hotel when they were first notified of the incident at 9.39pm.
He told depute fiscal Sue Ruta that a total of five fire engines ended up dealing with the fire and that this included units sent from Dundee and Dunkeld. Mr Rumgay described the fire as “significant.”
The trial, heard before a jury and Sheriff Wade, continues.
