Probe begins into Old Town inferno
A major investigation was tonight under way into a blaze which continued to burn in the heart of one of the world’s most historic cities, causing widespread destruction running into millions of pounds.
More than 100 residents evacuated from Edinburgh’s Old Town area faced the prospect of spending a second night in emergency accommodation.
Although the fire, which raged through last night, has been brought under control, there were fears that eight-storey buildings were in danger of collapse.
It is likely to be another two days before the blaze is fully extinguished, fire chiefs said.
More than 80 firefighters were tonight still involved in tackling the blaze which affected residential properties, shops and offices as well as nightclubs in the World Heritage Site.
The fire broke out shortly before 8.15pm last night above La Belle Angele nightclub in Hastie’s Close, just off the Cowgate, a popular thoroughfare for weekend revellers.
It worked its way up through the buildings in the Cowgate, along Guthrie Street and onwards towards Chambers Street.
Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade’s divisional officer, David Mercer, said tonight: “Our concern is that the facade above Leisureland, which has an eight-storey drop, is in danger of collapsing.
“We still have 80 firefighters in the area and we are not scaling down the operation at the moment.
“There will be a combined investigation by police forensics and the fire brigade.
“We are talking about the extent of damage running into millions of pounds.”
The Belle Angele, Gilded Balloon and Loca nightclubs have all suffered internal collapse as have a number of other buildings.
Firefighters worked throughout the day to prevent the blaze from spreading further.
Fire chiefs said residents evacuated from the scene were “surprised but necessarily upset” as well as being relieved that there were no injuries.
The local authority placed 54 people in emergency accommodation and a number of students were also evacuated. There have, however, been no reports of persons missing.
A firefighter sustained a minor knee injury.
Edinburgh University also had to rehouse 90 students into alternative accommodation last night.
It was also counting the cost of damage after its premises were hit by the fire.
Research work on artificial intelligence was destroyed at one of the bases for its School of Informatics, an internationally acclaimed centre for research and teaching.
However the university hoped to minimise the impact on its research project and said researchers would have back-up records.
