21/05/2026
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REMEMBERING: Today we remember Firefighter Roderick MacLeod, 25, from Inverness Fire Station, who tragically died in the line of duty whilst tackling a blaze on this day in 1981.
At 17:20 hours on the the 21st of May 1981, the then Northern Fire Brigade received a 999 call reporting a fire at Aberchalder Lodge, four miles from Invergarry.
The then volunteer firefighters of Fort Augustus were the first appliance to to mobilised, and on their arrival found a severe fire in progress, with flames coming through the roof of the isolated guest house.
The Officer in Charge immediately sent an assistance message requesting further appliances and firefighters. Two appliances from Inverness and one from Fort William were mobilised on receipt of the assistance message.
On arrival of the additional appliances and crews, a reliable water supply for firefighting was established, and firefighters worked for hours to bring the fire under control and prevent it from spreading.
Firefighter MacLeod was on the ground floor of the property with another firefighter, working to extinguish pockets of fire in the living room, when suddenly and without warning the first floor collapsed down onto them, trapping Firefighter MacLeod.
Immediate attempts were made by firefighter MacLeod’s colleagues to locate him, with firefighters digging with their hands through rubble. He was found trapped under beams, which were too heavy to lift by hand, and hydraulic jacks had to be used.
Despite the best efforts of a local doctor, and firefighter MacLeod’s colleagues to resuscitate him he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Firefighter MacLeod was married and had served with the Northern Fire Brigade for four years.
The most likely cause of the blaze was believed to have been an electrical fault under the flooring of the bedroom which was directly above the living room. Most of the Lodge dating from the 17th Century was destroyed in the fire and subsequent collapse.
Firefighter Roderick MacLeod, gone but never forgotten.
