Glasgow Central is on Fire!

[weareallqueens]

The fire started in a vape shop, apparently but seems utterly out of control now. No trains in or out of the station. Has hit the Grand Central Hotel too.

I don't know how to copy from X onto here, but there's a short video when the fire first started in the vape shop - dark smoke pouring out the front of the shop, then a couple of explosions after woman ran down with a fire extinguisher. Don't know if she did manage to use the extinguisher - a couple of guys manhandled her away just before the explosions.

I am completely heartbroken. I cannot believe what I've been seeing this evening.
Iconic building, so many memories, so much history, now so much wreckage and chaos.

😭😭

https://x.com/MrNChance/status/2030773851915796757?s=20

It is incredibly sad. Just devastating.

The loss, (twice) of the Art School to fire was one thing, but this seems to be on a different level altogether. Right in the middle of the city, so many people and businesses directly affected, the impact on transport etc, and the loss of buildings at the heart of the city which are/were so familiar to those who live in, travel through or visit Glasgow.

Am in tears now.

It was a lovely building. Heartbreaking.

double heartbreaking it was probably illegal vapes, or at the very least illegally stored vapes.

Looks like a headshop.

Oh that is awful, how frightening.

@SpaceRaccoon Grok is now saying that the image of the vape shop is incorrect

However, I have seen Grok get this kind of stuff wrong in real time and then it corrected itself about an hour later.

Sorry to say, I'm generally quite suspicious about the whole thing - I do realise that a vape shop fire would cause a lot of damage, but this much damage?

grateful to the emergency services. I hope it's under control soon.

sorry, I just realised this is on Scotsnet! I was just commenting because I was so sad. Always so dreadful when historic buildings are damaged like this, good wishes to all in the area x

Reported the spam post above (00:46)

That did not look like the right type of fire hydrant.

So sad. Just the last thing the city centre needs. I believe the council had plans for the regeneration of Union Street and now there will be yet another block of waste ground.

Agree. Embarrassing hill to die on!

Assuming you're not from Glasgow?

Glasgow has not had a good day. The disgusting and violent scenes at the football today both on and off the pitch have been wildly reported and now this absolutely tragic fire. Another poster mentioned it, and this PP was saying that they wish both incidents hadn't occurred if we had no football hooligans and no vape shops.

@mumsnet doesn't exist.

In the mid 90s I was seconded to Glasgow and lived out of the Central hotel attached to the station (think is Voco now) for about 6 months. I loved that building so much, my favourite room looked out over the platforms, and I used to love the background noise and bustle. Bizarrely, one memorable night there was a fire alarm, and we all headed down in our PJs etc, sat on the platform for an hour or so, then went back, by which time they'd opened the bar where we stayed til the early morning. Heartbreaking to see the fire.

Just had a look at Google Street View, looking at that shop unit on all the past photos they have. It looks as if it last had an occupant in late 2014 (The Money Shop). It shows as empty by July 2015, and in every photo since then right up to the latest Street View in June 2024. Vape shop couldn't have been in situ more than 20 months.

So - it was empty for ten years or thereabouts, been vandalised over these years - maybe inside too? Could have had leaks, vermin, all going largely unchecked, most likely.

I'd wonder about the state of the fabric of the shop, and how that might have played a part. I don't imagine the vape shop will have spent much on it, nor the owners who had it sitting empty for a decade.

Are there residential flats in those buildings too? How terrible, your home burning down through no fault of your own, losing all your things.

I'd feel so vulnerable in a flat now with a vape shop below me. If that turns out to be the start of the fire.

So many fire investigation officers on this thread. Didn't realise Mumsnet members were experts in that sort of thing.

And so much vitriol because if the type of shop it was.

No, they said last night no residents were involved. It’s just business buildings

Woah! That’s awful. I hope no one has been hurt.

Have they managed to save the station?

Couldn’t have said it better myself about football and vape shops. Glasgow city centre is a dump and over the last few years has became as bad as it was decades ago.

I wonder if they are going to name who owns the vape shop or if that will go unreported?