Hundreds evacuated as firefighters tackle blaze at Strathclyde university

HUNDREDS of students had to be evacuated from two university buildings in Glasgow city centre last night.Strathclyde University’s main student union building was affected after smoke and flames were seen coming from the neighbouring James Weir Building.

Police and firefighters said the fire in the building – which houses the university’s engineering department – involved hazardous chemicals.

It was still being tackled late last night.

The alarm was raised by student president Charandeep Singh after he spotting the fire from his office window.

He said: “We evacuated the union as a precautionary measure. Around 150 students were evacuated within two minutes.

“I’m extremely proud of the staff and the fire brigade who dealt with the situation swiftly and calmly ensuring the safety of students. I will assess the situation as it develops with the appropriate people.”

More than 50 firefighters were involved in tackling the incident, which Strathclyde Fire and Rescue were alerted to at 7:15pm. Eight fire pumps were deployed to tackle the incident, which sent plumes of smoke drifting across George Square. A number of neighbouring streets were closed off. However no-one was believed to have been injured.

Deputy assistant chief officer Jim Doyle, who was in command of the incident, said: “Firefighters fought through acrid smoke and intense heat in an extremely complex building with interlinking corridors to fight this fire. Operations are still under way, but crews have made good progress in controlling the blaze to this point.

“We anticipate being on the scene on Wednesday as we continue to deal with this incident.”

A spokesman for the university said: “All classes in the James Weir Building on Wednesday have been cancelled.

“Students will have access to other university facilities as normal and we will keep you up to date with developments throughout the day.”

Meanwhile, the fire service said a man was rescued from the 14th floor of a burning building in Maryhill in the early hours yesterday.

Four hours were spent evacuating the block of flats. Crews were called to the fire in Wyndford Road at about 2:40am and were said to be on the scene four minutes later.

Firefighters rescued the man from a balcony and evacuated all the flats above the 14th floor.

Three people were given precautionary check-ups from ambulance crews at the scene, and the residents were allowed to return to their homes shortly after 6am.