Family have spoken of their "deep regret" following the loss of a grandfather after an Edinburgh explosion.
James Findlay Smith has been formerly identified as the 84-year-old who died in the "tragic" incident at a house in Baberton Mains Avenue on Friday night (December 1).
In a statement released through Police Scotland, his family said: "It is with deep regret that our Father/ Papa/ Father in Law, James Findlay Smith, sadly lost his life in the tragic events at Baberton Mains Avenue on 1st December 2023.
“Our thoughts are with everyone involved and our well wishes go to the impacted families.
“We would like to thank the emergency services and the neighbours who went above and beyond for their support and help on the evening and following days."
The family requested respect for their privacy at this time.
Read more: Edinburgh explosion: Man who died after house destroyed named
A 43-year-old woman and 54-year-old man were rushed to hospital after the blast ripped through the house on Friday.
An investigation into the incident by the Health and Safety Executive is reportedly focusing on the internal gas installations at the property.
Emergency services rushed to the scene at 10.25pm following "multiple reports" about the explosion.
A house was destroyed in the explosion and bricks and debris were left strewn across the road, with reports of windows on the street being shattered.
It is understood Mr Smith was in a neighbouring property.
Read more: Community raises thousands to help victims of Edinburgh explosion
An HSE spokesperson said: “The focus of our investigation relates to the internal gas installations at the property and not the network.
"Our thoughts are with the friends and family of the man who sadly lost his life.”
People were evacuated from a number of homes in the area following the blast.
Neighbours said they felt their homes shaking while one person said they heard the explosion from inside a cinema in nearby Wester Hailes.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said five engines attended and two people were rescued from the ruins of the property before their arrival.
Read more: Neighbour pulled woman from burning rubble of Edinburgh explosion
A Scottish Gas Networks (SGN) spokesperson said: “After a thorough investigation, the Health and Safety Executive have confirmed the incident in Baberton on Friday night was not related to SGN’s network.
“Our deepest sympathies are with the family of the 84-year-old man who tragically died in this incident.
“Our thoughts also remain with the couple injured as a result of the explosion.
“We initially worked with the emergency services to ensure the immediate vicinity was made safe in our role as the gas emergency service.
“We’re working with Edinburgh Council to offer support to residents evacuated following the explosion.
“We’d like to reassure the local community that their gas supply is safe to use.”
SGN reminded people that if anyone smells gas inside or outside they should call the national gas emergency service on 0800 111 999.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel