Colleagues of fallen firefighter raise funds in his honour at Six Nations game

Colleagues of a firefighter who died after tackling a blaze at a department store will raise money for a memorial fund set up in his honour at the Six Nations rugby game this weekend.

Barry Martin, 38, died on January 27 as a result of injuries sustained while fighting a large fire at the former Jenners store in Edinburgh earlier that week.

He was the first Scottish firefighter to die in the line of duty since Ewan Williamson in Edinburgh in 2009.

His colleagues from McDonald Road Station’s Blue Watch will collect donations for the Barry Martin Memorial Fund, established to support his family by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), at the Scotland v Italy game at Murrayfield on Saturday.

A “text to donate” campaign will also be promoted on big screens inside the stadium.

Thousands lined the streets of Edinburgh last month to pay tribute to the married father-of-two, with firefighters and members of the public standing in silence near St Giles’ Cathedral as his funeral took place.

The FBU has partnered with online fundraising platform DONATETM to allow people to donate easily to the fund.

FBU Scotland regional treasurer Seona Hart said: “The firefighting family is still grieving the loss of one of our own and our thoughts and solidarity remain with Barry’s family and all those who knew him well.

“As a union, we want to honour Barry’s sacrifice, dedication, comradeship and selflessness through the Barry Martin Memorial Fund, and are grateful to the Scotland rugby team and Scottish Rugby Union for facilitating collections at Murrayfield this weekend.

“At times like these, the support from the public both financial and also emotional can make a huge difference for the families of bereaved firefighters, and we are grateful for anything which people can contribute.”

Donations can be made to the fund at: www.fbu.org.uk/circulars/2023hoc0103mw/bro-barry-martin-memorial-fund.