3-065-619 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Burning of Messrs. A. and P. Tod's flour mills, Leith, [Scotland], 1874. From "Illustrated London News", 1874. 'A fire broke out, in the evening of yesterday week, in the extensive flour-mills at Leith belonging to Messrs. Alexander and Robert Tod. The flames raged with intense fury, and shortly after midnight the extensive range of buildings was completely destroyed. The damage is estimated at from £200,000 to £250,000. The greater part of it is covered by insurance. In consequence of the destruction of the mills nearly 400 men have been thrown out of work. A sketch of the scene presented by the conflagration is reproduced in our Engraving'. Explosions in flour mills were sometimes caused by a pair of millstones stopping, and thus rubbing against each other, resulting in a spark or fire igniting the grain dust in the air. From "Illustrated London News", 1874.