By Kevin Stirling

One of the most significant events that affected Aberdeen FC in the 1970's was not winning the Scottish Cup or almost being relegated in 1976 but the extensive fire that swept through the Main Stand at Pittodrie in 1971. It was only by luck and the timing of the fire that nobody was hurt. It was during the early hours of Saturday 6th February that year when fire broke out underneath the Main Stand. The deserted ground was free from any staff or visitors.

Fireman wearing breathing apparatus saved the Scottish Cup as the blaze destroyed around a third of the Main Stand. At the height of the fire, Fire master John Donnachie directed the operation after club secretary Bert Whyte appealed to him to save the club trophies from the smoke-filled boardroom. Mr Donnachie commented at the time; "Being a Dons fan I knew the layout of the boardroom well. We had to break the windows on Pittodrie Street so I could put two men in. They felt their way through smoke to the glass case and handed out all the trophies; the Scottish Cup first, they were all safe. However the fire destroyed not only all the offices and administration, but the sauna and billiards rooms were also destroyed. All of the player's strips and equipment was also gone. The blaze lit up the skies over Aberdeen and around 35 firemen fought the blaze. Nearby householders were also alarmed when two explosions caused danger. The initial one was thought to have been asbestos cracking in the roof but the second one was far more dangerous as a gas canister blew up causing significant damage. Firemen had to evacuate that area as a crew went in to remove more cylinders in an adjacent area.

Aberdeen chairman Richard Donald who was called to the stadium after the fire broke out at 3.55am, was a dejected figure; "The loss of everything is a big blow after everything was going so well. How it started we may never know. The last person here was at 5pm last night. It could not have been an electrical fault as we have safety switches in place." Aberdeen manager Eddie Turnbull arrived at the ground at 5am and was unsure how the fire would affect his plans; "We shall have to try to get other facilities, but it won't upset our training. Our reserve match due here today will be off."

The club also announced that the sale of tickets for the Dons Scottish Cup tie at Dundee Utd would go ahead as planned on the Monday. As daylight broke the full extent of the damage became apparent. Viewing the mass of twisted girders and what remained of the seating Mr Donald said; "We will get structural engineers in to survey this. Whatever happens we shall be right on to getting this sorted to get the club back to some kind of normality as soon as possible."

There was no doubt that the fire had ripped the very heart out of the club. Gone were the administration areas, offices, gymnasium, dressing rooms and other associated areas. That day after the fire the Dons were due down to play Dunfermline at East End Park. Aberdeen were sitting proudly at the top of the table and were going head to head with Celtic for the title. The Dons had already beaten the Parkhead side in Glasgow and were favourites to win the league. Aberdeen had recently gone 12 matches without conceding a single goal and a recent defeat at Hibernian was the Dons only blemish on an otherwise faultless report card. The week before the fire, Aberdeen defeated Morton 3-1 at Pittodrie which meant the Dons had beaten every single one of their opponents in the league that season. As the players gathered at Pittodrie in daylight of Saturday morning they saw for themselves the utter destruction caused by the fire. Even the strips and hampers that were prepared for the trip to Fife were gone. It was hardly ideal preparation and a sad day for Aberdeen was compounded when Aberdeen went down 1-0 to Dunfermline, a team that was bottom of the 18-team division back then. The Dons had to soldier on and two weeks after the fire, the Dons played their first game at Pittodrie; against Rangers. Pittodrie looked very much different with the steel framework the only remaining part of Section 'A' which was now completely gone. With so many crucial games coming up, the Dons were at a distinct disadvantage as with no facilities as such, it was a day-to-day existence with training being changed away from the ground and little or no contact with club officials on a daily basis. By the time Celtic came calling on 17th April 1971, the game was a virtual league decider. Aberdeen simply had to win to take the race to the final day a week later. The draw suited Celtic and it was the Glasgow club that were delighted to return to Parkhead with a point in the 1-1 draw. The almost eerie atmosphere at Pittodrie back then was a strange experience for Dons record score Joe Harper; "There was no doubt that the damage caused to the ground had an effect on the team. Everything was on hold, with no facilities, training was impossible and our preparations for games were nothing like what we were used to. When we played Celtic in the penultimate game of the season we had to change in the area where the police were housed. All that separated us from the Celtic team was a curtain drawn across the area. We could hear everything Jock stein was saying and they could listen in on what Eddie (Turnbull) was telling us. It was a strange experience and before we went out all I could hear was the police commander telling his men about information on a group of Glasgow pickpockets in the area."

During season 1970.71 the records before and after the fire make for interesting comparisons. Prior to the blaze in February, the Dons league record was;

Played 23 Won 19 Drawn 2 Lost 2 For 53 Against 10.

After the fire;

Played 11 Won 5 Drawn 4 Lost 2 For 15 Against 8.

One aspect of the fire was that the substantial collection of club artefacts and memorabilia was virtually destroyed by the fire. Items that dated back to the club formation in 1903 were lost forever. Fortunately one trophy that was saved was the Scottish Cup. The boardroom at Pittodrie escaped the worst of the fire and the national trophy was passed out through a window after the fire was put under control. Many club items were not so fortunate and as well as the collection of trophies, memorabilia and photographs, the club records and administration files and ledgers were also destroyed.

It emerged later that the fire was caused by a discarded cigarette which was allowed to smoulder beneath the Main Stand seating. Nobody was ever blamed for causing the fire and subsequently no police involvement was necessary.

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