the blaze started in the Patisserie Valerie cafe next door to a iconic spot, “Harry Potter CAfe”.
As George IV Bridge caught on fire on Tuesday morning, Scotland police blocked off many routes in the city’s ancient center. A cleaner at Edinburgh’s Elephant House cafe, where JK Rowling wrote sections of her Harry Potter books, raised the alarm shortly after 6 a.m.
The fire is thought to have originated next door at the Patisserie Valerie café. The fire did not spread to the Elephant House, according to owner David Taylor, but it did suffer smoke and water damage.
He told BBC Scotland: “I feel absolutely gutted about this.
“At best, we can hope for opening in a few weeks time, but if there is structural damage too then it isn’t bearable to think about.”
On Tuesday morning, nine fire engines and two specialty ladder trucks were deployed to the location. In addition, the Scottish Ambulance Service was there. Candlemaker Row and Chambers Street were closed, and rented flats above Patisserie Valerie were evacuated. The Oz Bar, located below Patisserie Valerie on Candlemaker Row, was also damaged.
Because of the barricade around the George IV Bridge site, convicts transported to Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday morning had to use the front door. A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said the fire had damaged “a number of buildings.”
All buses traveling down George IV, including the 23 and 27, have been diverted, according to Lothian. Bus tours of the city are also being rerouted.
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “On Tuesday at 06:39, we got a call to respond to an incident at George IV Bridge in Edinburgh, with our first resource arriving at 06:46.
“Two ambulances, a paramedic response unit, and our special operations team were deployed to the scene.
“One patient was transferred to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.”
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