Residents jump from windows to escape Glasgow tenement blaze

Published on 24/09/2012 08:33

THREE men have been taken to hospital after jumping from a window to escape a fire in a Glasgow tenement.

Fire crews were called to the blaze in the basement of a four-storey tenement in the Pollokshields area of the city at around 2.25am today.

When firefighters arrived at the scene they found residents shouting for help at the windows of their homes on the upper floors.

Strathclyde Police said three men, aged 32, 60 and 61, jumped from a first-floor window into the back garden.

They were taken to the city’s Victoria Infirmary where they are in a stable condition.

Another four people were rescued from the building by firefighters using ladders.

Police said six people were also evacuated from a nearby building as a precaution.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said firefighters battled through “intense heat and smoke” to extinguish the blaze, while other firefighters rescued four residents from their flats above using ladders.

At the height of the incident, 35 firefighters were involved in tackling the blaze.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue’s Assistant Chief Officer Robert Scott said; “Basement fires are notoriously difficult to deal with due to the enclosed nature of the area on fire, and the build-up of heat and smoke. Firefighters have to call upon all of their training and expertise to tackle such fires successfully.”