Nursery School closed due to fire safety concerns

Concerns over the safety of a nursery on the top floor of an eight-storey block of flats should a fire break out have resulted in the closure of the school, it has been reported.

A new report has revealed that health and safety inspectors were concerned with the underlying danger at Westfield Court Nursery School, which carried “a significant risk” as far as emergency evacuation was concerned.

The inspectors asked Edinburgh city authorities to move the children from the block because “the lengthy evacuation route means a successful emergency evacuation would require a high ratio of trained adults to children”.

After visiting the nursery with staff from Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service, the inspectors concluded that its location presented “challenges of evacuating young children down seven flights of stairs during an emergency”.

The current lengthy evacuation procedure in place required “a high ratio of trained adults to children” and because flammable material is often stored in the stairwells by residents, there were serious concerns.

Several incidents involving tower block fires have occurred across the country in recent months.