Nostalgia: Last week's fire in Gorgie was the latest in a long line of major blazes

Published on Saturday 30 May 2009 11:18

THE thick, choking plumes of smoke could be seen as far as the West End. One worker had to leap 15ft from a window to escape the belching fumes, and four explosions rocked the surrounding area as tyres caught light at the Uni-Royal factory in Gilmore Park back in 1969.

It was one of the most spectacular fires to hit the Capital in living memory, with dense clouds of smoke blacking out the nearby streets – although it was very short-lived. Within a hour, firefighters had the blaze, caused when machinery cut with an oxy-acetylene burner fell on uncured tyres, under control, and the gathered crowd returned to work.

Probably the biggest fire the city has ever seen was in 1824 when a two-day blaze on the Royal Mile left 250 homeless.

The November fire threatened the whole of the Old Town and bank workers helped tackle the blaze in order to save the head office of the Commercial Bank, which later became the now defunct Edinburgh Wax Museum.

Princes Street has also fallen victim to several big fires. Jenners' former premises was destroyed in a blaze in October 1892, while another site on the famous thoroughfare has been hit twice – firstly in 1909 when it was Renton's drapery, then in November 1955 when it was C&A.

When a bonded warehouse on Quality Street caught light in 1955 it proved to be as fierce as anything encountered during the war years. Thousands of gallons of whisky and rum from the Hill Thomson & Co warehouse went up in smoke or trickled down the street.

A high wind meant fire crews were beaten back several times from tackling the blaze – while the whisky from burst caskets mingled with the water from hoses, creating a blend which several passersby were seen scooping off the road with their hands.