Traffic chaos as tenement blaze tackled by 50 firefighters

MORE than 50 firefighters tackled a blaze in a four-storey tenement in the south side of Glasgow yesterday.

Emergency services were alerted to the fire in Eglinton Street just after 2pm.

On arrival, firefighters from Calton were confronted by a serious blaze and had to use breathing apparatus to search and evacuate the building, while water jets were used to fight the fire.

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One woman was rescued from an upper floor and treated for slight smoke inhalation before ambulance staff took over.

There were no reports of any other injuries.

The scale of the fire was such that, after initial attempts to fight the blaze, additional crews from Springburn, Polmadie, Milngavie, Cowcaddens, Yorkhill and Castlemilk were called in to assist.

The main roads into the south side, Eglinton Street and Pollokshaws Road, were closed, along with Albert Road and Albert Drive, with traffic diversions put in place.

Assistant chief officer Lewis Ramsay, who co-ordinated the operation, said: “Firefighters who first arrived on the scene quickly evacuated the premises and I’m pleased to say there have been no reports of serious injuries.”

By mid-afternoon, the blaze was under control, but Mr Ramsay said he expected firefighters to be at the scene for “an extended period of time”.

Last night, officers continued to carry out damping down procedures, while the road closures remained in place.