Fire dog's nose for trouble sniffs out accelerant after blaze at bar

A FIRE which ripped through a Lothian hotel is being treated as suspicious - after a sniffer dog was brought in to investigate.

The blaze broke out at the Tranmare Bar and Restaurant in Tranent just before 5am yesterday, causing "significant damage" to the building.

A spokeswoman for the fire service confirmed that the specialist sniffer dog had successfully managed to locate an accelerant used to start the fire within the building.

She said: "The dog did give positive indications for accelerant and there was also the possibility that there was more than one area where the fire had started, which again is normally quite suspicious.

"These two factors were enough to make us think that the fire had been started deliberately."

Police established a cordon and closed roads around the bar and restaurant, which is situated on Haddington Road, while fire officers battled through heavy smoke to tackle the flames.

Nobody was inside the Tranmare at the time of the fire as the bar was closed and the building has not been used as a hotel for several years.

It took firefighters around two hours to extinguish the flames. Many of the windows were blown out by the fire. The property is split into two blocks, with the fire starting in the bar area which is often used as a function suite. The second block, which previously housed guests in the hotel, was not affected.

Group manager of Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service, David Girrity, said: "The building was quite severely damaged by the fire.

"There were no injuries whatsoever to members of the public or the emergency services."

Widow Helen Muirhead, who lives opposite the Tranmare, said: "I heard the commotion over there at about 5am. I looked out and saw a fire engine and police. It's awful.

"It is a shame and it will be missed because it seems to be quite busy, especially at the weekends."

Grandfather-of-three, Stanley Hay, 67, who also lives near the bar and restaurant, said: "There was a searchlight up the back which lit the whole place up. I saw the smoke and heard all the banging, which was the windows smashing.

"The front of the building was just painted and the signs re-written last year. It's a shame."

Detectives are urging anyone with information to come forward.

A police spokesman said: "Anyone who saw any suspicious activity in or around the Tranmare Hotel before 5.25am on Tuesday is asked to contact police immediately."

The owner of the Tranmare was yesterday thought to be down south and was making his way back home.