The fire which destroyed the warehouse belonging to Wylie & Lochhead, upholsterers and undertakers at 43-47 Buchanan Street, was observed by thousands of Glaswegians making their way into the city centre on the night of Saturday 3 November 1883. When the firemen arrived on the scene and turned their hoses on the fire they found that the water pressure was too low to reach the higher parts of the building. It was discovered that the pressure had been turned off at the water works at the entrance to the city. One fireman was slightly injured by broken glass whilst fighting the blaze.
The Wylie & Lochhead blaze was one of Victorian Glasgow's worst, causing damage worth over £200,000. Fires of this magnitude had become rare, due to the effectiveness of public fire alarms installed in 1878 and the speed and efficiency with which the fire service answered emergency calls.
Reference: TD 338/23/17
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
fire alarms, fire fighters, firemen, fires, Glasgow Fire Brigade, Glasgow Fire Service, undertakers, upholsterers, warehouses, water supplies, Wylie & Lochhead
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