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Firefighters outside St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, ahead of the funeral of firefighter Barry Martin who died while fighting a fire at Edinburgh's historic Jenners building. Picture date: Friday February 17, 2023.
THE wife of a firefighter and Fire Brigades Union (FBU) member who died tackling a major blaze in Edinburgh said that she was “utterly privileged” to have known him ahead of his funeral today.
Barry Martin, 38, died on January 27 after sustaining serious injuries while fighting the fire at the former Jenners department store on Princes Street four days previously.
Ahead of the service at St Giles’ Cathedral in the Scottish capital, his wife Shelley paid tribute to her Fife-born husband as a “motivated man who was driven” to be a firefighter.
Since 2010, one in five firefighter jobs has disappeared alongside 30% funding cuts — all while climate breakdown brings record blazes and flooding. It’s time to fund our fire service properly, writes FBU general secretary STEVE WRIGHT