THREE West Lothian men who travelled to Inverkeithing and started a huge fire, putting lives at risk, have avoided jail terms.

The trio were part of group that went to the town, entered a former school surrounded by housing and started the blaze, using accelerants to make sure it took hold.

Up to 100 firefighters tackled the massive blaze in November 2018 and the building, which was to be turned into flats, was gutted.

The blaze was so ferocious that fire staff considered dousing nearby houses with water to protect them from burning embers which could be seen in the air.

Today (Thursday), the three men, who were teenagers at the time of the fire, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court for sentencing, having admitted their guilt previously.

In the dock were Alan Alexander, 23, of Kenilworth Rise, and Kai Russell, 22, of Aller Place, both Livingston, and Christopher Bauld, 21, of Elm Court, Blackburn.

They admitted that on November 19, 2018, at the former Inverkeithing Primary School, Roods Road, whilst acting with others, they wilfully set fire to curtains, a cardboard box and a quantity of hay within the building and applied accelerant to the fire, whereby the fire took effect and significantly damaged the building and its contents.

The court heard that the trio were part of a group of eight who travelled by car to Inverkeithing that night.

Depute fiscal Alistair McDermid told the court previously: “The building has been disused for several years and had been boarded up by the council to prevent anyone from gaining entry. It is owned by property developers from the Glasgow area and is a listed building.

“The owner company purchased the old primary school for £400,000 in 2006. In 2017, after paying for planning permission, the building was estimated to be worth around £550,000.”

At around 7pm, the fire-raisers met up at the Asda car park in Livingston.

“The group sat for a short period of time before deciding to drive over the bridge into the Fife area to attend the locus,” said the depute.

They arrived at 7.33pm and entered the building through an open window.

The depute continued: “They got to the assembly hall and, whilst there, Russell and Alexander were seen by witnesses attempting to set fire to curtains draped at the sides of the stage with lighters.

“Russell also set fire to a cardboard box filled with hay, which quickly went out. Bauld was seen trying to set fire to hay on the floor and a door.”

Bauld and another in the group went outside for a smoke. At around this time, either Alexander or Russell was heard saying: “We’ve got it lit” and the curtain was seen to be ablaze.

Once the curtains were on fire, one of those present sprayed a can of oil grease as an accelerant.

The court was told Bauld then shouted: “Get in the car, get in the car. Let’s go.” Once in the car, Alexander was heard bragging: “It was me that set fire to the curtain.”

Reisdents in nearby houses saw the fire and called the emergency services.

The depute said: “The first fire crew arrived between five and 10 minutes after the initial call was made. Senior fire staff noted the building was well ablaze and that some sort of accelerant must have been used.

“At the fire’s peak, there were nine fire engines, a command unit, two height appliances and a water bowser present.

“In addition, there were police units in attendance. It is estimated that at the height of the fire, there was somewhere between 50 and 100 firefighters present.”

CCTV caught the registration numbers of the vehicles leaving the scene, leading police to tracking down those responsible.

Russell’s car was searched and several aerosol cans marked “highly flammable” were found in the boot.

Alan Jackson, solicitor for Bauld, described the incident as “an escapade” and said his client “felt bad about it at the time”.

However, his client blamed one of his companions for going back to the car for the accelerant and denied involvement in that.

Darryl Lovie, representing Russell, said his client had lost his apprenticeship as a direct result of the incident but had since found another job.

Sheriff Charles Macnair sentenced all three to the same punishment; community payback orders with 270 hours of unpaid work and three years of supervision.

In the days after the incident, a police spokesperson said the fire “had the potential to cause catastrophic damage to property and life”.