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Kilbirnie Street Fire

Glasgow City Archives, Deposited Collections

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Kilbirnie Street Fire

A photograph of firemen attending a fire at Sher Brothers' cash and carry warehouse in Kilbirnie Street in Tradeston on 25 August 1972. The fire appliance in the foreground is a Magirus-Deutz Water Tender Escape (WrE), its pump outlets can be clearly seen with three lengths of hose coupled to them. The appliance driver on top of the fire engine is about to hand down a powerful searchlight to the fireman waiting below, which is connected to the cable drum (the white drum just below the drivers right hand) mounted on the appliance top.

In the top left of the photograph two firefighters are operating a high-powered hose to tackle the blaze from an hydraulic platform, by directing the jet of water through a small upper floor window.

Seven firemen died while fighting the Kilbirnie Street blaze, after one was trapped inside the building and six of his colleagues attempted to rescue him.

There was another major fire at the Sher Brothers' warehouses in June 2001, but fortunately no one was seriously hurt in the blaze.

Reference: TD1431/51/51/3

Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries, Information and Learning

Keywords:
cash and carry warehouses, disasters, fire appliances, fire engines, fire fighters, firemen, fires, Glasgow Fire Brigade, Glasgow Scooshers, hydraulic platforms, Kilbirnie Street Fire, Sher Brothers, warehouses



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