First minister pledges help with costs of ‘horrific’ fire next to Glasgow Central station
John Swinney expresses ‘huge relief’ that no one was hurt in blaze believed to have started in vape shop
Scotland’s first minister has pledged to help deal with the costs of the “horrific” fire that has closed Glasgow Central station for at least two days and gutted a Victorian office block.
John Swinney said it was a huge relief there had been no injuries, but that there would be significant financial costs from the fire, which caused chaos for the city’s commuters and the cancellation of west coast main line services to Glasgow.
National Rail said Scotland’s busiest station was likely to remain closed until after Tuesday. It is widely expected the mid-Victorian block will be demolished.
The fire is believed to have broken out in a vape shop on Union Street at about 3.45pm on Sunday. Witness footage showed several passersby trying to douse flames behind the counter before retreating when the fire took hold, leading to explosions inside the shop.
The Scottish fire and rescue service said about 200 firefighters had been involved in tackling the blaze, which spread quickly and gutted the Forsyth building that surrounds a corner of the station. The fire caused the building’s dome to collapse and destroyed shops and businesses including a well-known fish-and-chip shop, the Blue Lagoon, a salon and a cafe.
All train services to the station, which is used by about 25 million passengers a year, were immediately suspended. Several city blocks surrounding the station were also closed, causing severe disruption to bus services and gridlock on nearby streets.
The gutted interior of the grade B-listed structure was clearly visible behind its blackened facade on Monday. Thick smoke continued to billow from the ruins, passing across adjoining streets filled with police cars and fire engines.
Streets all around the site have been cordoned off by police, some of whom wore face masks against the smoke, directing commuters and office workers unable to reach their destinations.
The conflagration sparked immediate calls for tighter regulation of vape shops. The reported explosions are believed to have been caused by the lithium batteries used by some vape devices that were stored onsite.
Paul Sweeney, a Scottish Labour MP for the city who campaigns for better oversight of Glasgow’s architectural heritage, said the fire had revealed a “massive blind spot in our regulation”.
“I watched the footage of that fire taking hold of the shop unit with increasing fury,” he said. “How could a vape shop destroy 175 years of Glasgow’s heritage and numerous small businesses in a matter of 12 hours, and also disrupt the busiest railway station in Scotland for an indeterminate period? It’s just extraordinary.
“It raises questions about the vulnerability of historic buildings to such lithium fires. When this building dates to 1851, it’s not been designed with modern fire protection standards. Why on earth are we permitting these highly risky retail activities to take place in extremely vulnerable buildings adjacent to critical infrastructure?”
Swinney said images of the explosions were “deeply unnerving and concerning” and that a detailed investigation was needed when he spoke to reporters at the scene.
“If the fire did start in the vape shop, which is what I’ve certainly been briefed was the case, then it will raise issues abut the safety of such premises and it’s vital that we examine all of those issues with an open mind,” he said. “The fact that there are no serious injuries reported is a huge relief, but the damage is enormous and the disruption will be significant to the travelling public and around the city centre.”
Glasgow’s council leader, Susan Aitken, had appealed for financial help from the government in posts on social media on Monday, and Swinney said he recognised there would be significant financial costs.
“We’re in the early days of all of that. But I want to signal our willingness to support Glasgow city council and to support them financially in dealing with the consequences, which will be immediate, significant and unexpected,” he said.
The fireservice said it had 18 appliances and specialist vehicles at the scene at the height of the blaze.
One of the men who tried to douse the initial fire, Lamin Kongira, told the BBC he acted after a shopkeeper came out of the vape shop shouting “fire, fire”. He took a fire extinguisher from a nearby Subway sandwich shop but was driven back by two explosions.
“We tried to find a way to sort it out,” he said. “What was going through my head was the survival of people. When I see there is no way I can control it, I quickly run to block the road.”
The crowdfunding website GoFundMe said more than £100,000 had been raised for a number of small-business owners whose shops have been destroyed, including a nail-bar owner whose shop opened there in November, nine self-employed tattooists and a makeup salon.
Network Rail said west coast intercity services scheduled to terminate at Glasgow Central would run instead to Preston, Carlisle or Motherwell, with travellers helped to find alternative train connections northwards. TransPennine Express said trains between Edinburgh and Newcastle/Manchester airport would be subject to delays and cancellations in both directions.
A spokesperson said: “The station will remain closed today and likely tomorrow. Timescales for reopening will only be confirmed once we are able to safely gain access and carry out the necessary checks.”