West Lothian primary school fire damage set to cost 'several thousand pounds' to repair in Blackburn

West Lothian Council has said it will cost “several thousand pounds” to repair the damage caused by a fire at a primary school.

Cracks on the windows of the nursery block due to the intensity of the flames in the playground. | West Lothian Council

A fire broke out at Murrayfield Primary School in Blackburn on Saturday evening at around 7pm. Nobody was hurt, but some playground equipment was destroyed in the blaze, which also damaged windows in the nursery block.

With the school already closed for a bank holiday today, Monday, May 18, council workers were able to attend the scene and fully assess the damage. They will next set a repair schedule and get full costings.

The damage in the playground will be cleared and the windows replaced, with the damaged area set to be cordoned off when pupils return to school tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19.

The fire at Murrayfield Primary in Blackburn destroyed some playground equipment. | West Lothian Council

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A West Lothian Council spokesperson said: “The playground will have to be cleaned up and the windows replaced, and our team have made sure the damaged area isn’t accessible to pupils and is safe.

“There is no internal smoke damage and the school will be able to operate as normal when it reopens tomorrow.

“We are looking at what a repair schedule looks like, but the repair cost will be several thousand pounds.

“We’d like to reiterate that the school and nursery will reopen as normal tomorrow.”