On this day 2002: Cowgate fire devastates Edinburgh's Old Town

It was the single spark that would devastate Edinburgh’s Old Town and leave a deep scar for years to come.

December 7, 2002 was no ordinary Saturday night.

Local firefighters were put to the ultimate test as they faced a huge inferno at South Bridge that threatened to destroy the Capital’s Unesco World Heritage Site beyond repair.

The blaze had been caused by a single spark from a broken fuse box in Hastie’s Close, which contained the popular La Belle Angele nightclub. It quickly spread up eight stories, causing utter devastation in the process.

Flames engulfed a total of 11 buildings, with the narrow closes and maze-like architecture of the Old Town buildings creating the perfect environment for the fire to take hold.

Within a matter of hours, La Belle Angele, the Gilded Balloon comedy club, Leisureland Arcade and the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics were rendered to ash.

More than 80 Edinburgh firefighters fought tirelessly for 20 hours to control the blaze from spreading to other significant buildings, but it took a further 52 hours before the fire was fully extinguished

Fire chiefs were reluctant to put firefighters inside the complex buildings too soon for fear they might collapse. Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade labelled the historic network of homes and establishments as a “rabbit warren”.

Picture showing the fire damage at Leisureland, South Bridge.

Remarkably the fierce flames and thick smoke did not kill or seriously injure anyone, although a firefighter was treated for minor injuries.

Branded the largest fire affecting a UK city in decades, the estimated cost of the operation was £300,000, with the following clean-up operation costing more than £1 million.

Historic Scotland said in 2002 that “it is impossible to quantify the impact it will have on the historic core of Edinburgh".

The organisation said: “What is certain is that many of the buildings’ interiors are irreplaceable. A piece of Edinburgh’s history has been lost.”

Fire engines attend fire at The Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh's Cowgate, Saturday December 7 2002.

The debris and destruction of the scorched area was cleared soon after the fire, but a derelict gap site would persist for many years.

In 2014 a new development rose from the Cowgate fire’s ashes.

Iconic venue, La Belle Angele, which in a previous incarnation had hosted the likes of Oasis and The Libertines, was rebuilt at a new-look Hastie’s Close and duly welcomed back into Edinburgh’s nightclub circuit.

A message from the Editor:

Clearing the rubble after the fire in the Cowgate.

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