Residents in Alloa have rallied to raise funds to repair a children's playpark after it was torched in a suspected deliberate fire. Emergency crews were called to Wimpy Park on Pine Grove on the evening of Monday, September 21, after an alarm was raised around 8.25pm.
Fire devastates wooden jungle gym
Videos from the scene showed a wooden jungle gym ablaze, with thick black plumes of smoke billowing into the night sky. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended and extinguished the blaze. Police Scotland is treating the fire as wilful and has launched an investigation, with enquiries ongoing.
The incident has left residents heartbroken, with many sharing their anger on social media. One person said: "Absolutely vile. I’m so sorry this has happened." Another added: "This is sad. My boy loves playing there on weekend with friends. I hope everything get sorted soon. I couldn't believe it when I saw the video."
Community launches fundraiser
Speaking after the fire was put out, a spokesperson for the Wimpy Park Community said the park would be "closed until further notice" and that they would deal with it as a "community". A GoFundMe page has since been launched to help fund the repairs, and at the time of writing over £5,000 had been raised in just over 14 hours.
A statement on the fundraiser read: "On behalf of the local community, please help us to restore the equipment that was sadly destroyed when the park was set fire to. I'm sure everyone will agree that this small group are the heart of the county. The work they do for the community is amazing. Let's give them something back!"
Park reopens with tower fenced off
The community organisation has been overwhelmed by the generosity as they begin to reopen the park. Photos of the aftermath show the charred play equipment fenced off by organisers. A spokesperson for the group added online: "Thanks to the community for their messages of support, fundraising and helping us fence off the tower. We can now reopen the park but ask everyone to stay away from the tower, we are working hard to try get tower looked at to assess the damage. We are disappointed what happened but the support for our group and the park has been fantastic and we thank you all."
This is not the first park in Fife to be torched this year. In a separate incident in January, a playpark next to Leuchatsbeath Drive in Cowdenbeath was set fire to in a "deliberate" attack. The public spot, near Foulford Primary School, was popular with kids and families. Footage shared on social media showed flames ripping through the equipment. No one was injured in that blaze.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Around 8.25pm on Monday, 21 September, 2026, officers received a report of a fire on Pine Grove, Alloa. The fire was extinguished by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The fire is being treated as wilful and enquiries are ongoing." The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has been approached for comment.
