Photograph of the damage inflicted on the premises of McDougall & Son, wholesale glass and China merchants of 77-79 Buchanan Street, by a fire that began around 9am on 16 March 1887. This area of the city centre had a reputation for fires. Although McDougall's building was barely ten years old its interior was clad in highly combustible wooden panelling. The damage amounted to £40,000.
The St Enoch detachment of the Glasgow Fire Brigade were first on the scene and were soon joined by the Central force under William Paterson, who was highly praised for his part in putting out the blaze. The firemen followed their usual procedure for fires of this type, by halting the spread of the flames and then concentrating on putting out the fire itself. The men pictured here, perched on the walls, are probably members of the Glasgow Salvage Corps who salvaged valuable goods from fire-damaged buildings.
Reference: TD 338/22/12
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
china merchants, fire fighters, firemen, fires, Glasgow Fire Brigade, Glasgow Fire Service, Glasgow Salvage Corps, glass merchants, McDougall & Son, salvagemen
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