A major fire gutted a historic B-listed building on Edinburgh's Princes Street early Tuesday morning, sending flames and thick smoke into the sky and prompting a significant emergency response. Firefighters were called to the scene at 2:52 a.m. and battled the inferno for hours. The roof and upper floors of the building, formerly occupied by Debenhams, were destroyed, leaving the rest of the structure charred.
Emergency services closed off large sections of Princes Street, a major thoroughfare, causing traffic disruptions. Tram services in the area operated on a reduced schedule, and some bus routes were diverted. No injuries have been reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
The building, located at 109 Princes Street, dates back to 1869 when it was built as the Palace Hotel. It later served as the Scottish Liberal Club before becoming a Debenhams department store in 1978. The Debenhams store closed in May 2021 following a fire the previous April.
Investors had previously put forward plans to redevelop the site. Legal and General, which purchased the building in 2021, had proposed a £50 million renovation to convert it into a luxury boutique hotel. More recently, Criterion Capital, led by billionaire Asif Aziz, had plans to establish its first Scottish Zedwell hotel there. These redevelopment plans appear to have stalled.
Witnesses expressed sadness over the incident, describing the building as iconic and a loss to the city's architectural heritage. One local resident, Graham Reed, noted the unfortunate history of fires on Princes Street, referencing a previous blaze at the Jenners department store. Another passerby, Sotirs, conveyed sorrow, stating the building contributed to the city's beauty.
This incident echoes a similar fire in Glasgow in March, where a B-listed historic building was destroyed after a vape shop fire. That blaze required approximately 250 firefighters over four days and left the building in rubble, displacing numerous businesses.