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Cheapside Street Fire

Glasgow City Archives, Deposited Collections

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Cheapside Street Fire

The fire appliance and its hydraulic ladder, crushed when the front of Arbuckle Smith & Co's bonded warehouse collapsed in the Cheapside Street fire of 1960. Six fire fighters were killed in this one incident, and the blaze claimed the lives of a eight more fire fighters and five men from the Glasgow Salvage Corps.

The tragedy raised serious concerns about the proximity of bonded warehouses to congested areas of the city, where homes and industrial premises were packed close together. Local people had to be evacuated from their homes while the warehouse burned and the fire brigade's efforts were hampered by the narrow cobbled streets that surrounded the building.

Reference: TD1431/51/26/3

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

Keywords:
Arbuckle, Smith & Co, bonded warehouses, Cheapside Street Fire, disasters, fire appliances, fire engines, fire fighters, firemen, fires, Glasgow Fire Brigade, Glasgow Salvage Corps, hydraulic ladders, hydraulic River Clyde



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