Demolition of fire damaged flats in Lochgelly well underway

On Friday, crews began dismantling the charred remains of people’s homes and by Tuesday about half of the flat block had been reduced to rubble.

The four-storey Fife-Council owned building was deemed structurally unsafe earlier this month and earmarked for demolition after fire engulfed the property on October 23.

Around 25 people living in the building’s 12 flats escaped without injury, but they have lost everything.

Now, just weeks after the determination to demolish the building, work has already begun to clear the site.

On Friday, Fife Council’s service manager for building standards and safety, Garry Nicoll, confirmed demolition work had started.

Falkirk-based demolition experts David Morton Ltd are taking charge of the demolition and on Tuesday one half of the flat block remained while the other was a heap of rubble. Equipment remained on site and workers were still dismantling the remainder of the flats.

Before the demolition began, ward Councillor Rosemary Liewald (SNP) said that safety teams tried to go into the flats to retrieve some of the most important personal belongings that were left behind.

Teams tried to retrieve important documents for the displaced residents, but at the time of demolition a lot of personal belongings were left inside the dangerous building to be torn down with the flats.

“It’s one of those things, it’s not just a flat, it’s someone’s home and everything has been done with great empathy and understanding,” Cllr Liewald said.

Fife’s housing services and ward councillors have been offering support and assistance since the very beginning, and Cllr Liewald spoke about how residents are feeling watching their homes be torn down.

“Their immediate thought of course was ‘This is dreadful, this is awful, this is our home, we’re losing our home’ but the resilience of these residents has been exceptional,” she said.

“They recognise this is not a safe place for them ever to return to. They recognise that this is a chapter in their lives that is over and they’ll sadly have to move on to the next one.”

Since the fire, Cllr Liewald said that half of the impacted households have already been settled into permanent housing.

New homes have already been identified for the other half, and Cllr Liewald said the council is working “at pace” to get everything in order for families to move in as quickly as possible.

Throughout the whole process, Cllr Liewald said the council housing service has provided outstanding support and compassionate communication for the Francis Street flat residents.

And she said that support will continue well after the rubble is cleared and the residents resettled.

“You can put four walls around someone but that’s only four walls. This support has to go forward to create a long lasting, safe, and homely home for these people,” she said.

Despite the immense tragedy of the fire and the loss of 12 homes, Cllr Liewald said the community has come together in a beautiful way.

“The community has come together and has supported them incredibly well. The responses that have come from the community for furniture, bedding and everything to rebuild a home has been phenomenal,” she said.

“That’s exactly what the folk of Lochgelly and surrounding villages do. There is this small town village mentality that exists and it doesn’t just exist in the Lochgelly area, it exists in the whole of Fife. There’s a very quick response of looking after your nearest and dearest and that’s what we’re seeing right now. We have to take heart from that.”

The demolition works are continuing throughout this week until it is complete. The debris and rubble will take longer to remove from the site, but there’s a hope that it will be completely finished before the final week of December.

For the time being, Cllr Liewald is advising people to stay away from the area as much as possible to avoid dust and debris from the demolition.

Once the site is clear, Fife Council have said they will develop plans for new housing on the site in the longer term.