A HUGE blaze ripped through an empty Glasgow building last night as 100 firefighters fought for hours to contain a fire that looked "like a volcano had erupted".
A HUGE blaze ripped through an empty Glasgow building last night as 100 firefighters fought for hours to contain a fire that looked “like a volcano had erupted”.
Hundreds of residents and office workers had to be evacuated from the city’s Tradeston area as red-hot embers fell on to nearby buildings and thick smoke billowed from the derelict former court building.
Onlookers watched as firefighters used aerial rescue pumps to tackle the massive flames and used smaller pumps to keep parked cars cool as ash descended on top of them.
Morrison Street was completely shut off as the scene grew increasingly dangerous and traffic chaos ensued on the M8 Kingston Bridge and the M74 at the height of the rush-hour as drivers struggled to make their way through the smoke.
Local resident Maria Storr, 22, said she got a call from her friend telling her the building was on fire.
She said: “I went out shopping and was only gone for about an hour when my friend called and told us that the building was on fire and she had to abandon her car.
“Firefighters stopped her and told her she had to leave her car now as there were embers falling all over the place. They told her to get out straight away and they would spray it to stop it going on fire.
“The flats next to us have been evacuated, the residents there have been told to find somewhere else to stay for the night.
“It looks like a volcano has erupted ... the flames, the ash and embers everywhere. It’s horrific.”
Another resident Alasdair Longford, 25, and his girlfriend Alex Henderson, 28, said the fire developed very quickly.
Mr Longford said: “I was on nightshift and my girlfriend, who was working in the city centre, woke me up as she was walking home and could see the smoke. At first it was just smoke and we saw the fire engines arrive, but within about 15 minutes the whole place was engulfed in flames.
“It’s all a bit surreal, like something out of a film. The smoke is unreal and it’s been billowing out for hours over the Kingston Bridge. The traffic looks like it’s been at a standstill.
“We’re a bit concerned about going back into our flat because you can see all the embers landing on the roof, it looks pretty dodgy.”
Miss Henderson added: “It looks as though the firemen are fighting a losing battle. The flames just keep getting bigger.”
As firefighters tackled the blaze, the roof of the building could be seen to collapse as flames spread across the top.
Flames could also be seen at every window in the building as crews used large pumps to try to dampen them.
Another onlooker, who was evacuated from a nearby office building, said that the scene was “very dramatic”.
A spokesman for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said that firefighters were called to the scene at around 1.50pm yesterday.
The spokesman said: “Firefighters arrived to find smoke billowing from the first and third floors of the five-storey premises.
“The Incident Commander immediately committed four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus into the heart of the building while putting three pumps to work outside.
“Additional support was requested and we now have 80 firefighters at the scene, with a total of 16 appliances in attendance, including four aerial rescue pumps and a number of additional support vehicles.”
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