Glasgow flat fire causes rush hour disruption

A FIRE in a tenement brought rush-hour chaos to Scotland’s biggest city.

More than 30 firefighters were at the scene when the fire broke out shortly after 4pm.

One person was rescued from the building and taken to hospital for treatment. Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said everyone else involved had been accounted for.

Eight pumps and an aerial rescue platform were used to tackle the fire.

After two hours, firefighters said the blaze was under control, but said last night they expected to stay at the scene throughout the night to dampen the building.

Both Byres Road and Highburgh Road were closed.

Witnesses reported seeing flames tearing through the building and windows blown out. About 100 people gathered outside.

Catherine McCluskey, owner of Stuart Donald hairdressers, beneath the blazing block of flats, said: “The windows blew out and we heard an explosion – I don’t know if it was a gas explosion or what.

“You could hear screaming coming from the street but that was people watching it rather than people inside. Then the flat above – the very top floor – caught fire as well and there were flames shooting out of its windows, too.”