Firefighters responded to a blaze yesterday in the grounds of Murrayburn primary school which destroyed the Murrayburn bus.
Two crews wearing breathing apparatus responded to the fire just after midnight, which tore through the bus. The fire caused no damage to the school building though firefighters “vented” the building after a small amount of smoke made it inside. The school was open today as normal.
The bus was Edinburgh’s first outdoor classroom and was donated by Lothian Buses in 2012. It was used by the school for many of their environment and outdoors projects.
A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said:
We received a call at 12.19am about a single decker bus alight.
We had two crews attend and they used two high-pressure hose-reels and two breathing apparatus.
The crews dealt with the fire on the bus and a keyholder from the council came to check the school for smoke.
There was only very slight smoke inside, not even enough to set off the fire alarm. Police were in attendance for traffic management.
Murrayburn Primary School posted the following on their Facebook page:
We are all very saddened by this event and will be holding a short school assembly this morning to talk to the children about it.
Thoughts in particular go to the children from Primary 3 whose daffodil bulbs for the Horticultural Show were inside. We are hoping that photos of their work will be displayed in absence of the flowers.
Our fantastic Parent Council are already on the case of seeing what can be done to help find the culprits, and what we will do with the space now.
A spokesman for Police Scotland said:
Police in Edinburgh were called in the early hours of this morning to a fire at Murrayburn Primary School in Sighthill Loan.
The fire took hold in a decommissioned single-decker bus, which was used as playground equipment and well alight by the time officers were called to the scene at around 12:20am.
No injuries have been reported however police are treating the incident as suspicious.
Anyone who has information that can assist police with their ongoing enquiries is asked to call 101 or, alternatively the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
