Discussions to take place after 'deliberate' fire at Preston's derelict St Joseph's Orphanage
Discussions are set to take place between the council and fire and police services after a fire was started at Preston's old St Joseph's Orphanage.
Firefighters from Preston and Penwortham were called out to the old orphanage in Theatre Street at 8:08pm this evening (Sunday, June 17) to reports of a small fire in the building involving rubbish and some floor boards.
The fire, which was on the building's first floor, was quickly put out using a hose reel from a pitched ladder.
A spokesman from Preston Fire Station said that it will have been done deliberately.
They added: "There's been problems with people getting into it previously.
"There's work to be done with the police and the council now, which will be done tomorrow [Monday, June 18]."
The orphanage was opened in 1872 following a gift from wealthy widow Maria Holland and a hospital for the "Sick Poor" was opened in an adjacent building five years later.
It was used as a private care home for the elderly and was called Mount Street Nursing Home until it finally closed its doors in 2003.
There were no casualties.