Edinburgh fire: Firefighters rush to popular Edinburgh pub after discarded cigarette sparks fire

Fire crews rushed to a popular Edinburgh pub and restaurant after a blaze broke out in the outdoor smoking area.

The owners of the The Riccarton Inn, on Lanark Road West in Currie, said the fire was started in the early hours of Thursday (December 21) due to a customer's “discarded cigarette” not being extinguished properly.

As a result of the high winds caused by Storm Pia, the wooden structure outside the pub later caught fire and completely destroyed the external smoking shelter.

In a post on Facebook, the owners wrote: “We have had a fire at the inn and our external smoking shelter is no more. The fire was caused by someone discarding a cigarette without extinguishing it and not using the ashtray provided. This happened at 22:07 hrs and is clear on the CCTV.

“It has then combined with the wind caused the wooden structure to catch ablaze at around 1:35am and it wasn’t until 4am the fire alarm was activated with smoke entering the building and the fire brigade arriving promptly to extinguish the fire.

“We are open as normal and look forward to welcoming you as always and another busy day is anticipated but entrance is through the side door due to unsafe structure at the rear.”

In a later post, they added: “Thankfully, we have monitored alarm systems and procedures, which all proved to work correctly, and nothing caught hold in the main building as a result.”

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has been contacted for comment.