As the first images came in showing smoke billowing from Edinburgh's former Jenners department store on Monday the city gave out a collective gasp.
A capital icon for generations, the famous old store is simply one of those buildings that none of us can contemplate losing.
But while we hope that the damage isn't as severe as first feared, it does have us thinking that history is in the process of repeating itself - for this is not the first time Jenners has caught fire.
READ MORE: How day at the races created Edinburgh's iconic Jenners department store
In fact, it was a devastating blaze that paved the way for the magnificent building that we all know and love today.
On the evening of November 26, 1892, a fire broke out at the premises of Charles Jenner & Co. on the corner of Princes Street and South St David Street.
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Housed within a group of converted Georgian townhouses, the capital drapers, silk merchants and furniture dealers had been a fixture on the street since 1838, and the sight of it going up in smoke would have been just as shocking to people then as it is today.
Two firemen were injured and sent to hospital while battling the blaze, which completely destroyed the then 120-year-old buildings.
Among was worst hit were the Jenners employees, many of whom lived on the premises and lost absolutely everything.
It was reported that many of the female staff left in such a hurry that they escaped in only their nighties. The ladies were sheltered in neighbouring hotels in the area.
A total of 500 personnel worked day and night to put out the flames in what was the largest fire witnessed in Edinburgh for many years. A crowd of 40,000 people gathered to watch Jenners burn to the ground.
It was later estimated that the fire had wreaked damage totalling a whopping £250,000 - £25 million in today's money. A relief fund was set up to aid those who had lost all their clothes and belongings in the blaze.
But while the loss of the original store was lamentable, Jenners’ rebirth would be nothing short of spectacular.
Enlisting the talents of esteemed architect William Hamilton Beattie, a new Edinburgh landmark rose from the ashes. Inspired by the Bodleian Library at Oxford the new Jenners store set a new standard for architecture in Edinburgh when it opened on March 8, 1895.
In the meantime, we dearly hope that there are no serious injuries as a result of this latest fire and that the historic building has not sustained any significant damage.
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