Man dies as blaze rips through Gorbals tower block

Published on Wednesday 16 December 2009 21:42

A MAN was killed and 50 families left homeless when a fire ripped through a floor of a Glasgow tower block in the early hours yesterday.

• Fifty families were left homeless after an intense blaze broke out in their building. Picture: Robert Perry

Residents spoke of their attempts to rescue the deceased from his maisonette flat in Waddell Court in the Gorbals.

The alarm was raised just before 2am after a fire broke out in the flat.

Christopher O'Reilly, 48, who was staying with his brother Patrick, who lived on the same floor as the deceased, described his attempt to help the man.

He said: "I was woken by the sound of banging and screaming. There was already smoke in the flat.

"I opened the front door and this wall of black smoke rolled in – you couldn't see a thing.

"I went outside and I caught a glimpse of a woman in pink pyjamas being restrained by this guy. She was screaming 'my father's trapped in the fire' and trying to get back in."

Mr O'Reilly helped to evacuate the woman before entering the burning flat himself.

He then retreated to his brother's home, where the two men found themselves trapped by choking smoke and were forced to lie on the floor with wet towels around their heads.

"I got into the hall, but the flames were shooting up from the living room and the heat and smoke forced me out," Mr O'Reilly said.

"I really thought we were going to die, when I heard the walkie talkie of a fireman. I screamed and he followed the sound until he found us. He placed a breathing mask on each of us, grabbed us by our collars and dragged us to safety.

"You never expect this type of thing to happen to you. The fire took hold so quickly, just minutes, it was terrible."

The dead man, 67-year-old Thomas Smith, had lived in the block for ten years.

His daughter, Annette and her boyfriend were taken to Victoria Infirmary along with two other adults for treatment for severe smoke inhalation.

At the height of the blaze, about 20 Strathclyde Fire and Rescue appliances were at the scene and 20 firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were in action inside the building. The fire was brought under control about four hours after the first call-out.

Such was the intensity of the blaze that part of the flat in which it broke out had collapsed.

Area Commander Garry Milne, one of the officers in charge during the incident, said: "In my 20-plus years in the fire service I have never seen such a fierce fire in a property such as this.

"Our firefighters were magnificent in the way that they fought their way through intense heat and smoke to tackle the blaze."

He said the layout of the flats made tackling the fire difficult, as it forced officers to move down stairs on to the flames.

The evacuated residents were housed at a nearby leisure centre.

One man, Peter Maley, 25, said they had no idea when or even if they would be allowed back into the flat. He said: "The floors underneath the flat are flooded from the hoses, there's a lot of damage. They are trying to get us all temporary accommodation, but it's going to be a miserable Christmas for everyone in the block."

Police and fire service forensic investigators spent the day examining the flat, though as yet no cause has been found.

Last night, 27 families were allowed back into the homes, while Alex McGuire of the Glasgow Housing Association said the others would be found temporary accommodation.

He said: "We are doing everything possible to help the families who are affected by the fire."