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Around 50 firefighters attended a city centre blaze earlier to bring the fire under control and also search for any casualties.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Operations Control received a 999 call around 12:45pm today, with the caller reporting a fire within the kitchen of the restaurant on Castle Street.

First responders arrived from Tollcross Community Fire Station minutes later and found a well-developed fire within the ground floor of the three storey building.

With reports indicating people could be inside the premises, firefighters donned breathing apparatus to begin search and rescue operations while additional crews made their way to the scene from across the capital.

Firefighters surrounded the building and used multiple high-pressure water jets to douse the flames, with some taking up position on turntable ladders to tackle the fire from above.

Moving room-to-room, firefighters conducted a thorough search of the premises and confirmed no-one remained inside the building.

Crews are continuing work to extinguish the fire, which caused extensive damage including the roof which partially collapsed.

Access to Castle Street was restricted to ensure public safety and allow fire and rescue operations to take place, however part of the street has now re-opened to pedestrians.

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident will be conducted by SFRS.

 

Photo courtesy of SFRS

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.