CARDENDEN suffered a body blow at the weekend when a fire forced the closure of one of the village’s best used leisure facilities.

And local councillor, Ian Chisholm, is worried that the incident could put the future of the leisure facility in jeopardy.

Fire struck Bowhill Swimming Pool at the back of 7pm on Friday night when an outbreak occurred in the sauna suite.

A pall of smoke soon hung over the central part of the village but firefighters from Lochgelly and Kirkcaldy were quickly on the scene and they managed to contain the blaze.

However, it was not before smoke and water damage was sustained by the building which is half a century old.

The Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, which operates the facility, which is used by people of all ages every day of the week, made the decision on Monday to keep the facility closed until an assessment of the repairs required is made.

Scott Urquhart, operations manager for Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, told the Times, “We are working with Fife Council to carry out necessary investigation work and will keep customers updated via our website with regards the Centre opening for customer use.

“We are sorry for any inconvenience to local users and would encourage them to visit the Trust’s other centres to access facilities, full details can be found on www.fifeleisure.org.” Grant Ward, Head of Area Services for Fife Council, said, “The fire was contained to the Health Suite area of the building but there has been water and smoke damage throughout so is still closed.

“The fire report is being compiled and we have Council and Fife Sports & Leisure Trust staff on-site assessing the extent of the damage. It’s too early to speculate when we think the building will be ready to re-open.” Councillor Chisholm said, “It is a real worry that the fire might threaten the existence of the whole swimming pool complex. “The delays to the Sauna installation had already been a concern for the patrons and I had urged the Fife Sports and Leisure Trust management to get the system commissioned quickly. We needed more footfall to ensure the long term viability of the Bowhill Pool and the Sauna was one way to help. I will be pushing for a quick solution.” Another local member, Councillor Mark Hood, aired his dismay at the effect of the blaze, especially at a time when the Kid a Quid initiative was in full swing during the school holidays.