The Great Fire of Edinburgh began in a printer's shop in the High Street. The call for assistance reached the Brigade at about 10pm and within a short time several companies with their engines were on the scene. Unfortunately, they had difficulty in finding water and by 11pm, when a supply was at last located, the fire had begun to spread to other buildings. By midday on 16th November, the tall steeple of the Tron Kirk caught fire, and the Kirk's famous bell, which had originally hung in Holyrood Chapel (and whose nagging tongue had inspired a poem by Robert Fergusson) came crashing down in a half-melted state. The fire raged out of control until 19th November when a great downpour of rain began and the fires were finally contained. Two firemen and 11 people died, many were seriously injured, 400 families lost their homes and a huge area extending from the High Street to the Cowgate was almost completely destroyed.