The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)

Anxious wait for parents of pupils at fire-hit school

Race against time to get Torbain ready after weekend blaze

- Aileen roberTson arobertson@thecourier.co.uk

Parents in Kirkcaldy are waiting to hear if their children can start school on Wednesday after Torbain Primary was hit by fire.

Police confirmed two youths had been traced and charged with wilful fireraisin­g in connection with the incident and said a report would be sent to the procurator fiscal.

Fire crews were called to the school at around 1.45pm on Saturday to find a blaze ripping through the building.

The boys’ toilets and staff room of the infant building at Torbain, which accommodat­es the school’s nursery and primaries one and two, were gutted by fire just days before the start of term.

Areas including the nursery also suffered smoke and water damage.

Two fire appliances attended after the alarm was raised and crews took around 40 minutes to get the incident under control.

The building was unoccupied at the time and nobody was injured.

Over the weekend, the headteache­r and janitorial staff were called in to assess the damage.

It is hoped junior pupils will be able to start school as planned. However, yesterday, parents were still waiting for news.

Fife Council posted on Facebook: “Following the fire at Torbain Primary School we’re working hard to get the school back on track for pupils returning on Wednesday.

“We’ll get more informatio­n to you as soon as we can.”

The incident followed vandalism at Valley Primary School, just one mile away.

Windows at the school were smashed at the end of last week.

Police Scotland has urged members of the public with informatio­n about either incident to get in touch on 101.

Staff at Torbain, the town’s largest primary with a roll of nearly 700

We’re working hard to get the school back on track for pupils. FIFE COUNCIL

including its nursery, had been working over the previous week to clean and prepare the school for the new influx of pupils.

It is believed fire spread from a bench through a window, causing devastatio­n to part of the building.

Detectives were at the scene on Saturday and a cordon was in place around an area which had been blackened by the blaze.

The main building at Torbain Primary School was ravaged by fire during the summer of 1975.

 ?? Picture: David Wardle. ?? Police checking the fire damage at Torbain Primary School. Now parents are waiting for news if their children can start school on Wednesday.
Picture: David Wardle. Police checking the fire damage at Torbain Primary School. Now parents are waiting for news if their children can start school on Wednesday.

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