Firefighters mounted a ‘huge effort’ to prevent a blaze outside Glasgow Central station from spreading to a nearby hotel, a senior officer has said. Assistant Chief Officer David Farries of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service praised crews for their ‘fantastic work’ in containing the fire, which broke out on Sunday evening.
The fire began in a vape shop, though the cause remains unknown. An investigation is under way to determine why the fire spread so rapidly. Only the facade of the B-listed Victorian building at the junction of Union Street and Gordon Street remains standing, but firefighters managed to stop the flames from reaching the Grand Central Hotel opposite the station.
More than 200 firefighters have been involved since the alarm was raised at 3.46pm on Sunday. At the height of the incident, 18 fire appliances and specialist resources, including a high-volume pump drawing water from the River Clyde, were deployed. Assistant Chief Officer Farries described the fire as ‘very intense’ and said the pictures ‘speak for themselves’.
He added that firefighters are trained to work in old Victorian buildings but that committing crews to a fully involved fire is dangerous. The priority was to keep firefighters and the public safe while preventing the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings.
