Eyewitness Attempts to Tackle Vape Shop Fire
An eyewitness recounted to BBC how he tried to extinguish a fire at a vape shop adjacent to Glasgow Central station but was forced to stop after a series of explosions.
The fire at the Union Street shop began around 15:45 on Sunday, quickly escalating into a large blaze that engulfed the entire building and caused partial collapse.
Lamin Kongira told BBC Scotland News he was passing by when a shopkeeper ran out shouting "fire, fire".
"I ran into the shop and I saw a small fire under the counter," he said.
Lamin then went next door to the Subway sandwich shop to seek assistance.
Returning with a fire extinguisher, he attempted to fight the fire.
"But two explosions in the vape shop meant that I had to turn around and shout at passers-by to 'get back'."
Lamin believed the second explosion caused the fire to spread to other parts of the building.
Video posted on X shows Lamin trying to keep people away from the shop as smoke billows from its entrance.
Lamin, originally from Gambia and residing in Glasgow since 2009, said:
"We tried to find a way to sort it out.
What was going through my head was the survival of people.
When I see there is no way I can control it, I quickly run to block the road."
He added that after firefighters arrived and began tackling the blaze, he "had to stand and watch".
"Seeing the fire in its small form and now it has consumed the whole city, it is horrible," he said.
Fire Spreads and Causes Building Collapse
Later on Sunday evening, flames spread throughout the 19th-century building and its iconic dome, with parts of the structure collapsing.
Glasgow Central Station has been closed to all train services since Sunday afternoon and will remain shut at least through Monday.
Numerous businesses were destroyed in the fire. Nearby hotels were evacuated and roads sealed off as a precaution.
On Monday morning, fire crews used aerial platforms to spray water over the remaining parts of the building while smoke lingered in the air.
Only the facade of the building at the corner of Gordon Street and Union Street remains standing.
Onlookers gathered at the police cordon expressed shock at the devastation.
Emma Reid, from Glasgow, said:
"It's just so sad. It's such an iconic building. It's so sad."
Rumaisah Imrane, originally from Glasgow but now living in Edinburgh, commented:
"It's terrifying, it looks like the whole building is just gone.
It's such a beautiful part of the city and Central station is such a lovely building."
Concerns Over Building's Future
Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney expressed concerns about the viability of the remaining structure, which was gutted by the fire.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Breakfast programme, he said:
"There's the cafe, there's the Blue Lagoon (chip shop), of course, which is famous for many Glaswegians.
It's been completely wiped out, destroyed. I mean the building is a gutted shell. It looks like something out of the Blitz.
I spoke to building control officers last night on site. They don't have much hope that the building can be saved at all.
We wait and see what their final decisions are but it sounds like the remaining facade on to Gordon Street is likely to have to come down, unfortunately."
