Firefighter critically injured after fire breaks out at iconic Jenners building
Five firefighters have been taken to hospital and one has been critically injured attending to a fire which broke out at the former Jenners department store building in Edinburgh.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said it was alerted at 11.29am on Monday morning to reports of a commercial building fire at Rose Street. 22 fire engines were dispatched at the scene of the incident.
The area was sealed off by a large police cordon.
Founded in 1838, the Jenners building was one of the oldest department stores in the world. The building is currently being redeveloped as a hotel after winning planning consent last summer. The restoration was due to take four years.
Ian Whelan, partner at Edinburgh-based surveyors EYCO, said:
“It’s too early to say what the impact on the building or the redevelopment plans will be. No doubt more information will filter out over the next few days.
“Unless there has been major structural damage, I expect that the impact will be on the timescale/programme rather than on the end product.
“The location and fundamentals of the site are still exceptional from a letting perspective and we wish the owners well in terms of recovering from this set back.”
Jenners on Fire pic.twitter.com/CVYJaBNxZZ
— Norrie Work 🏴 🇪🇺🦄 🇱🇻 🇺🇦 (@CllrNormanWork) January 23, 2023