Fire fighters tackle blaze at East Lothian auction house

By The Newsroom
Published 9th Jun 2018, 19:15 BST
Updated 9th Jun 2018, 20:27 BST
The Charles Phillips auction house at Wallyford Toll. Picture: GoogleThe Charles Phillips auction house at Wallyford Toll. Picture: Google
The Charles Phillips auction house at Wallyford Toll. Picture: Google
Fire fighters battled through the day to extinguish a serious blaze at an auction house in Wallyford Toll.

The alarm was raised at 12.09pm at Charles Phillips & Sons, a well-known auction business based at Drummore House near Musselburgh.

Fire crews from Musselburgh, Newcraighall and Dalkeith were in attendance even after the blaze was extinguished around 4pm.

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One eyewitness told the News: “The fire looks very bad - the smoke can be seen from Tranent town centre right into Musselburgh. It’s very heavy.”

This picture shows the smoke from the fire billowing out over the main road at Wallyford TollThis picture shows the smoke from the fire billowing out over the main road at Wallyford Toll
This picture shows the smoke from the fire billowing out over the main road at Wallyford Toll

Charles Phillips & Sons was founded in 1987 and specialises in the sale of art, diamonds, and memorabilia. The firm recently announced a company restructure.

A statement on its website said: “We are currently clearing all stocks and investments from our UK and overseas warehouse facilities. We will be using the expertise of Charlie Williams Auctioneer to sell our entire inventory.”

The blaze is the second serious incident Edinburgh fire crews have attended today. Earlier they were called to an incident at Greendykes House, Craigmillar, which saw one flat evacuated following a domestic fire.

Related topics:East LothianMusselburgh