照片中的建築物就是我以前上學的地方，還好沒有燒到。但隔壁棟燒燬了。
2002.12.09 中國時報
http://news.chinatimes.com.tw/Chinatimes/newslist/newslist-content/0,3546,110504+112002120900052,00.html
愛丁堡舊城大火 古蹟難逃厄運
江靜玲/倫敦八日報導
蘇格蘭歷史名城愛丁堡舊城區七日晚間發生發生火災，一些具歷史價值的房屋遭祝融摧毀，一名消防隊員受傷，一百五十多名人士因而必需緊急疏散。
這項大火災發生在週六晚間八時左右，總共動員了一百多名消防隊員，經過五小時，才將火勢控制住。但由於天氣寒冷，加上大火發生地點為愛丁堡舊城商業和住宅集中區，所以搶救行動格外困難，預料火燒將持續到整個週日。
愛丁堡消防隊發言人表示，火災是從城內舊城區著名「牛門」附近的一家夜總會開始的。火焰快速吞噬了一棟八層高的大樓，鄰近街上多家商店和住宅亦受波及，不斷冒出濃煙。到週日清晨為止，至少已有十多家商店被燒毀。
一九九五年聯合國教育、科技暨文化組織（UNESCO），甫將愛丁堡舊城列入具歷史價值的世界文化遺產名單，並投入數百萬英鎊進行維護工作。根據參與現場救火工作的消防人員指出，火災發生地點為古老舊城區，區域內人潮聚集，加上火勢蔓延快速，搶救和滅火十分困難。
至於這次舊城區大火到底摧毀多少區域內具歷史價值的古蹟，迄今亦尚未有完整報告提出。外界唯一感到慶幸的是，週六晚間傳出火災時，英國全國消防隊員不是處於罷工中。多達九千名英國消防隊員週六上午聚集在倫敦街頭，舉行擴大抗議遊行，要求英國工黨政府同意消防隊員加薪百分之四十的要求。過去一個半月以來，英國政府和消防隊工會間的談判，多次破裂。全國消防隊已舉行至少兩次以上全國大罷工，而由英國軍隊在消防隊員罷工期間負責滅火搶救工作。愛丁堡大火災發生在本週六消防隊大遊行結束後數小時，一百名消防隊員立即加入滅火。
The Scotsman
Monday, 9th December 2002
http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=1368182002
Capital's heart escapes total devastation
GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN
THE massive fire which destroyed part of the historic Old Town of Edinburgh and caused millions of pounds’ damage came within moments of running out of control and ripping through the rest of the World Heritage Site, a senior firefighter revealed last night.
As the blaze reached its height in the early hours yesterday, more than 100 residents were evacuated.
Firemasters deployed all four giant hydraulic ladder platforms held by the Lothian and Borders brigade, and another borrowed from their counterparts in Fife in a desperate battle to prevent the flames leaping across the narrow streets of the Old Town and setting dozens more buildings alight.
They feared that if the flames crossed the Cowgate and took hold in roof spaces , there would be nothing to keep them from sweeping up towards the Royal Mile.
The tactic worked and the fire was prevented from reaching more of the city’s architectural gems. However, deputy firemaster Steven Torrie admitted his fire crews had been stretched to the limit.
He said: "The teams worked excellently, otherwise it would have gone into Adam House and spanned the Cowgate. If it had done that, it would have led to significant fires all along South Bridge.
"At one point we were really stretched, but we managed to hold it."
The blaze caused millions of pounds of damage to a swathe of buildings between the Cowgate and Chambers Street in the heart of the Old Town.
A number of popular entertainment venues were gutted, including the Gilded Balloon, best known as a comedy venue during the Festival Fringe.
The fire also devastated Edinburgh University’s school of informatics.
But most of the important historic buildings in the area escaped damage and Adam House, one of the more significant 18th-century constructions, survived with only smoke and water damage.
The structure of a number of buildings has been weakened by the intensity of the fire and the weight of the water pumped on to the flames. Building inspectors suspect that some of the properties will have to be demolished.
The fire started above La Belle Angèle nightclub in Hastie’s Close at about 8:15pm on Saturday, but it took fire crews another two hours to find the source of the smoke which was seeping into neighbouring buildings.
By the time they identified the heart of the fire, it had already spread through the seven-storey buildings adjoining South Bridge and taken hold.
Despite the popularity of the area’s bars and clubs, the only person hurt was a fireman, who suffered a minor knee injury.
Emergency accommodation was provided by Edinburgh City Council for 54 people evacuated from surrounding flats, and another 90 students moved from their lodgings were put up for the night in the university’s halls of residence.
Last night they were facing another night in temporary accommodation as firefighters fought to damp down the fires that continued to flare up in the ruined shells, which were all that remained of a network of businesses, which also included the Living Room bar, the Loca nightclub and the Leisureland entertainment arcade.
The cause of the blaze, which worked its way up through the buildings in the Cowgate, along Guthrie Street and on towards Chambers Street, was still being investigated, but firefighters said it was likely to be another two days before it was fully extinguished.
The danger of building collapse means roads around the affected area will remain closed for days, causing widespread disruption to traffic.
David Mercer, Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade’s divisional officer, said they were taking no chances.
"Our concern is that the façade above Leisureland, which has an eight-storey drop, is in danger of collapsing," he said. "We have 80 firefighters in the area and we are not scaling down the operation at the moment."
He added that there would be a combined investigation by police forensics and the fire brigade.
"We are talking about the extent of damage running into millions of pounds," he added.
Assistant firemaster Del Simpson said he was reluctant to commit firefighters into the building because of the danger of collapse.
"Our major concern is the stability of the walls as all the floors have collapsed inside so there is a risk of collapse or partial collapse of the building," he said.
"Isolated pockets of fire are still burning and we are trying to extinguish these from the outside rather than putting firefighters’ lives at risk by going inside.
"The trouble is it’s an old building with a lot of timber. It is still early days in terms of being certain all pockets of fire have been completely extinguished "
Brian Sibbald, Edinburgh council’s public safety manager, said structural engineers would assess the area once the fire had been extinguished before deciding whether any buildings needed to be pulled down.
"The buildings in this area have all suffered damage on the upper floors with roofs collapsing," he said.
Every effort would be made to get people back into their homes, offices and buildings around the fire site as quickly as possible, he added.
Among those counting the cost of the fire was Karen Koren, the owner of the Gilded Balloon. Last night, she said she was resigned to seeing the building demolished.
"I don’t think I’m going to be able to go into the building again, I think it is going to be demolished," she said.
"I have been there for 17 years but we have lost all our records, everything.
"I’ve never been in a situation where everything has gone."
However, added Ms Koren, despite the destruction of the Cowgate venue, the Gilded Balloon’s Teviot Row premises would still be available as a Fringe venue. "It is not going to close us down."
At the height of the blaze, 19 fire crews, some from Fife and the Borders, were involved in the operation.
Strathclyde Fire Brigade also helped out by providing cover for the rest of the Lothian and Borders area.
