SCOTLAND: Firefighters yesterday said they were winning their battle to control a huge blaze that ripped through the heart of Edinburgh's medieval Old Town, leaving a number of buildings in the World Heritage site badly damaged.
"We hope, and we're quite confident, we've got it contained now," a fire brigade spokesman said. But firefighters warned that pockets of fires were still burning within the complex network of business and residential properties in the area and it could be two days before all were extinguished.
Almost 21 hours after the blaze began, 80 firefighters were still tackling the flames. At one stage 100 firefighters were involved.
The bill for the damage is expected to run into millions of pounds. The blaze has destroyed 13 buildings, some of which dated back to the 14th and 15th centuries.
A fire brigade spokesman said the layout of the buildings, many of which back on to each other, had hampered access, making it "one of the most difficult fires that's been tackled in Edinburgh in a long time.
"The problem is that a lot of the buildings have doors which go on to the adjacent building so that when the fire spreads it doesn't just spread through the walls, it can spread through the floors as well."
According to some reports, the fire started above a nightclub in the Grassmarket area of the city shortly before 8.15 p.m. on Saturday. But one fire officer on the scene said it was still too early to know for sure how and where the fire started.
"The fire service with the police will be carrying out an investigation," said assistant fire master Mr Del Simpson.
As many as 150 people were evacuated from residential and commercial buildings, including pubs, restaurants and nightclubs.
The area, which would ordinarily be filled with Sunday shoppers and diners, was occupied instead by lines of fire engines, firefighters and police, as smoke continued to billow from nearby buildings. Loudspeakers, walkie-talkies and pumping equipment deafened concerned locals, who watched from behind barriers.
Mr Paul Harrison (47), an Edinburgh resident for 28 years, said he was shocked by the scale of the blaze.
"There are a lot of historic buildings . . . but at least they can be rebuilt. The most important thing is that lives weren't lost," he said.
Mr Simpson suggested that the armed forces, who have provided cover for firefighters during their two recent strikes, would have struggled to cope with the blaze with their Cold War-era fire engines and outdated equipment.
An eight-day walkout by the fire brigade, which had been due to begin on Wednesday, was called off just two days earlier.
"This job for us as professional firefighters has been very difficult indeed," Mr Simpson said.
"We have been using specialist high appliances to tackle the fire which have greater height than anything the army has.
"So it is fair to say that the fire from the army's point of view would have been very difficult indeed."
One firefighter was taken to hospital after sustaining a minor knee injury.
There were no reports of casualties among the residents. - (AFP)