THE heart of Glasgow was filled with thick, black smoke yesterday as firefighters tackled one of the biggest blazes the city has ever seen.
Incredibly, nobody was hurt in the inferno, which is believed to have started in Victoria’s Nightclub on Sauchiehall Street. It is not yet known what caused the fire, but it did not take long for the flames to spread.
READ MORE: Eyewitnesses share their stories of Sauchiehall Street fire
At one point it seemed Glasgow might even lose the historic Pavilion Theatre, one of Scotland’s oldest surviving music halls.
Yesterday evening Assistant Chief Officer Lewis Ramsay said the fire had been contained: “It was a really complicated fire with an extensive fire spread, spreading across a number of older tenement-style buildings.
“I am delighted to say we have managed to contain it within the block that was affected, and more importantly we have managed to protect and save some iconic premises round about, most notably the Pavilion Theatre. I can’t tell you how relieved I am no-one was injured.”
Ramsay also paid tribute to his firefighters: “The first crews did a great job. They got into the premises as quickly as they could but it was an inferno. It was like a blowtorch, and they were beaten back by the heat and the flames and a really rapid spread.”
He said the crews had need to carry out “some really aggressive firefighting”.
“I had concerns the fire would spread and that was high up in my priorities,” he said. “We took steps to ensure that didn’t happen and we have now stopped the fire in the building of origin.”
Sauchiehall Street is one of Glasgow’s most famous roads, and forms part of the city’s main shopping centres. As the smoke grew thicker, residents and workers in nearby buildings, offices, restaurants and shops were evacuated, with police issuing warnings about the dangers of asbestos in the smoke.
It seems likely firefighters will have to remain at the scene for the next few days, with the Pavilion saying crews would be spraying the side of the theatre with water to keep the temperature down.
A spokesman for the Pavilion thanked the fire service and supporters: “We would link to thank everybody for their words of support this morning. Our sources within the Scottish Fire Service say that the fire has now been contained and that the fire did not spread to the theatre, and we hope that the only damage we have will be smoke related and to the front doors, which the fire service had to force entry to.”
Lauder’s pub was in one of the buildings where firefighters were working. Representatives for the bar, which can trace its history back to 1871, said it would remain shut until they were “informed it is safe for us to reopen”.
Other businesses in the row of buildings affected included Holland and Barrett, Savers pharmacy and Ryman’s stationery.
The fire was discussed at First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood with Nicola Sturgeon describing it as “extremely serious”.
She later tweeted: “Just chaired a meeting of @scotgov resilience group to be updated on current situation with Sauchiehall Street fire.
“This remains a serious ongoing incident and my sincere thanks go to @fire_scot and other emergency services for their heroic work.”
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