Edinburgh firefighter Barry Martin who died tackling Jenners blaze to have street named after him

Barry Martin, 38, died in January last year, days after attending a serious fire at the former Jenners department store in Princes Street. The heroic firefighter from Fife, who was part of Blue Watch at McDonald Road Community Fire Station, left behind his wife Shelley and their two young sons Oliver and Daniel.

According to The Courier, the name Barry Martin Crescent has been mooted for a new housing development off Primrose Lane in Rosyth.

Barry Martin sadly died on Friday, January 27, 2023 following the serious injuries he sustained while tackling a large-scale fire at the former Jenners building in Edinburgh earlier that week.

Suggested by the town’s community council, the idea is backed by Mr Martin’s family. And local councillor Brian Goodall agrees it is a fitting tribute to the hero firefighter.

He told The Courier: “It brings it home to you when someone local dies in the line of duty like that. We wanted to recognise him locally alongside the national recognition he justly had.

“I had been thinking about what we could do. And when the community council made this suggestion, I was delighted to support it.”

Barry Martin was one of five firefighters taken to hospital as a result of the fire at the former Jenners store.

The SNP councillor added that the support of Barry Martin’s family was key. “For all we want to honour him, the last thing we wanted to do was cause further upset for his family,” he said.

“The community council was in touch with his wife and other family members and they were in agreement. It’s a positive gesture and something his family will be able to look back on in generations to come and realise he died a hero.”

Normal Fife Council policy is to only name streets after people who died more than five years ago. However, councillors are expected to rubber stamp this street-naming decision next week.

Earlier this year, Barry Martin was remembered on the first anniversary of his death, with a plaque in his name unveiled at his former McDonald Road base.