Edinburgh fire: Serious blaze at play area in Restalrig Park being investigated for fireraising by police

Police investigate serious fire in Edinburgh play park

Police are looking into a serious fire which broke out in an Edinburgh play park on Saturday, March 4. Smoke could be seen for miles across the city and beyond after the blaze broke out in Nisbet Court, Restalrig Park, at around 1.30pm that afternoon. Firefighters rushed to the scene to find the play area up in flames. They used a high pressure hose to extinguish the fire, but the park’s apparatus was seriously damaged, as shocking photos from the scene show. No one was reported to have been harmed in the blaze, however.

A local resident who witnessed the fire said: “There was a huge flame in a few seconds! The fire was very fast! And there are allotments, there has been lots of damage.” While another resident expressed dismay at the situation. They said: “I'm really fed up with this kind of stuff. Hard enough living here without the place getting wrecked, just makes it worse....very disheartening.”

Police confirmed on Sunday, March 5, that officers are investigating reports of fireraising following the incident. ​A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On the afternoon of Sunday, 5 March, 2023, police received a report of a fireraising at a play park at Restalrig Park, Edinburgh, which took place the previous day. Officers are following positive lines of enquiry.”

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