Rae responded to tackle a fire at the North British Railway Company, Glasgow on 24 November 1904 where he was seriously injured by an exploding boiler. He died of his injuries three days later.[1][2]
Rae was born in 1869. At the time of his death in 1904 he was married and had four children; the oldest child was 10 years old.
Fire fighting career
Site of the Ingram Fire Station, Glasgow, 2010
Rae, a carpenter by trade, joined the fire service in November 1891 and rose through the rank to become a merit class fireman. From 1897 to 1904 he was in charge of the joiner's shop.
In 1904, Rae was stationed at the newly opened Central Fire Station at Ingram Street, Glasgow.[3]
Hunter Street fire
On 24 November 1904 Rae and other members of the Glasgow Fire Brigade attended a fire at the North British Railway Company's terminus, in Hunter Street, Glasgow, Scotland. The seat of the fire was the gas storage area.[4]
Exploding gas cylinders burnt Rae from the shoulders upwards, although his eyesight was not damaged.[3]
Lord Provost Sir John Ure Primrose as well as representatives from Edinburgh, Paisley and Greenock fire brigades attended Rae's funeral on 30 November 1904. His coffin was carried by horse and ladder carriage to the Glasgow Necropolis, where he was buried.[11]
Memorial
A memorial plaque is situated in Hunter Street, Glasgow and is featured as part of the Fire Fighter Heritage Trail.[2]
