The fire began in a vape shop on Union Street at around 15:45 on Sunday afternoon. Flames have led to the collapse of buildings, causing Glasgow Central Station to close.
18 fire crews attended the scene as police closed off the surrounding area to passers-by. Services worked through the night into Monday morning to successfully tackle the emergency.
Only the façade of the Union Corner, which has been an iconic building of the city centre since 1851, remains. The hollow interior and collapsed dome roof are visible through the empty windows. A full check of the station is yet to take place, but on first inspection, damage seems limited.
Labour MSP for Glasgow, Paul Sweeney, has expressed concerns that the rest of the building is not salvageable and will likely need to come down following conversations with building control officers.
Major travel disruption plagues the city centre, with the station remaining closed on Monday, and the same is expected on Tuesday. Scotrail is providing updates on their social media channels, but the guidance remains for customers to make other travel plans.
Limited replacement buses are running, and surrounding streets remain closed for public safety. Those in the area report large amounts of smoke and heavy traffic.
First Minister John Swinney attended the scene and has confirmed government financial support for damage caused by the fire to “make sure we can get the city centre up-and-running as quickly as we can.”
This follows his tweet last night where he issued his support to the emergency services and urged the public to “follow travel guidance and stay safe.”
Investigations into the cause of the fire are to take place with the hope of stopping major catastrophes such as this from happening in the future.
Featured Image Credit: Nicola Berry
Journalism and Film and Media student who loves writing about TV. @darcyrobson07
