Huge fire breaks out at historic building in Edinburgh city centre

Flames ripped through a historic department store building in Edinburgh after a fire broke out.

Firefighters are tackling the blaze on Edinburgh’s Princes Street after the alarm was raised at about 2.50am.

Footage shows an inferno engulfing the old Debenhams building on the famous shopping street.

Seven fire engines and three specialist appliances remain at the scene.

There have been no reports of injuries.

The fire has thrown rush hour tram and bus services into chaos.

Tram services in the area have been disrupted and some bus services have been diverted.

Edinburgh Trams said that trams are running a part route from Edinburgh Airport to the West End only.

It said that ticket acceptance is in place with ScotRail between Edinburgh Gateway and Edinburgh Waverley (St Andrew Square) and on Lothian Buses between the West End and Newhaven.

The department store closed at the site in April 2021 following a fire on the building’s ground floor.

Plans have been introduced to turn the Victorian building into a luxury hotel.

Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@usnewsrank.com. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Follow usnewsrank.com on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get usnewsrank.com articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.