Princes Street fire: Investigators must wait at least two weeks to access worst-hit parts of former Debenhams store
‘They can only go where it is safe to go’
Fire investigators trying to determine the cause of the fire which gutted part of the former Debenhams store on Princes Street will have to wait at least another two weeks before they can enter the section of the building at the heart of the blaze.
Work is under way to secure the facade of the building following the fire on July 9, but at the moment the condition of the structure is still too unsafe for anyone to enter the worst affected areas.
Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service announced on the day of the fire that they were carrying out a joint investigation and both describe the probe as “ongoing”.
The SFRS said investigators had carried out preliminary work, but full access to the building would only be available once structural work to make it safe was completed.
Currently the facade of the building is effectively only being supported by its own weight.
In a briefing to councillors last week, the council said it hoped the steel scaffolding to secure the facade would be in place in three weeks and estimated it could then take a further week before Princes Street - which has been closed since the fire - could reopen.
The target date for reopening is currently August 26. But the timetable is dependent on a lack of wind, with even a slight gust causing work to be paused.
The briefing to councillors said: "There is 8 to 12 metres in height of unrestrained masonry of the front façade of the building. There is a portion of significantly compromised and unstable stonework above a third-floor window on the east side and several lintels which have failed on the internal face.
"Since the fire, some internal facing stonework in this area has fallen. Until all this is secured there is a risk that further masonry could fall.”
A council source said there were some parts of the building which fire investigators had been able to access. “The engineers are making it as accessible as possible, but they can only go where it's safe to go.”
And it is understood there is a continuous dialogue between those working on the site and the police and fire service so the investigators can be kept informed of anything significant which is discovered as debris is cleared and bits of stonework are removed for the scaffolding to be installed.
It is difficult to know how long the investigation will take. The investigation into the Jenners fire in January 2023, when firefighter Barry Martin lost his life, has still not concluded. But the Debenhams probe is not expected to take that long since no-one was killed.
However, it is likely to take longer than the Union Corner fire in Glasgow, where there was eye-witness and CCTV evidence that the blaze started in a vape shop.