ARSONISTS are now thought to have been responsible for the railway sheds blaze over the weekend tackled by more than 100 firefighters.
Numerous seats of fire were discovered as crews from the across Devon and beyond battled to save the derelict Victorian redbrick building.
It emerged today that fire chiefs had expressed safety concerns about the derelict property due to be imminently demolished to make way for an Aldi store.
Last year, security fences and CCTV cameras had been installed around sections of the site which emergency services had deemed a potential public safety hazard from trespassers - some of whom were reported to be using the venue as a source of local drugs supplying.
And on Saturday afternoon security at the sensitive site was breached and an apparently deliberate attempt to burn down the archictecturally noteworthy building succeeded.
It was one of the biggest fires seen in the town in recent memory. No one was hurt.
Just 24 hours earlier a Newton Abbot crew and one from Torquay had used a hosereel jet to knock out a small rubbish fire at the same location.
During yesterday’s more serious outbreak, residents in nearby Forde Close were advised to shut their windows amid fears that ‘low risk’ asbestos was likely to be mixed in with the toxic smoke billowing across the town.
They were given the option of spending the night in the nearby Buckland Community Centre after gathering at an assembly point during the drama.
It’s understood some gathered at the Gilbert Road centre, but none took up the overnight accommodation offer.
Some are believed to have stayed with relatives overnight.
A Teignbridge Council spokesman said: ‘Police arranged for an assembly point located at Buckland Community Centre.
‘We were contacted and offered support in terms of a rest centre but this was not required.’
Supermarket giants Aldi were due to start preparatory demolition work at the controversial site last week, but the work was postponed because of delays in re-siting a bat colony.
A fire spokesman said more than 100 firefighters were involved in dealing with the blaze which raged through the night after first being spotted just after 1pm yesterday (sun).
Relief crews were still at the site this morning dealing with lingering hot spots.
A fire spokesman said there were initial anxieties, subsequently unfounded, that people may have still been in the building as the flames quickly spread through the roof.
Danger threats meant firefighters had to retreat from the building and tackle the incident from outside and from the elevation of a hydraulic platform.
Crews worked hard to make sure the flames did not spread to vacant office buildings once occupied by publishers David and Charles.
The spokesman said: ‘These would have gone up very quickly if the fire had spread, but they were saved.’
The fire started at the Exeter end of the building where it appeared railway sleepers had been ignited together with other materials.
‘Once the fire went into the roof, it was not safe to stay inside,’ said the fire spokesman.
He revealed the fire was already going ‘very well’ by the time the first firefighters arrived at the scene.
‘When the fire took hold and went in to the roof all we could do was attack it from outside and from the hydraulic platform,’ he said.
He added that there were no immediate signs that anyone had been living in the building. Bedding had been found inside during previous 999 shouts over the years.
He confirmed the asbestos risk was listed as ‘low.’
The good weather, including the absence of any wind, meant the toxic clouds of smoke drifted vertically before being dispersing out of harm’s way.
A police spokesman confirmed that CID officers were investigating the suspicious incident.