Ministerial board established to coordinate Glasgow fire recovery effort

Chaired by justice secretary Angela Constance, the board will ensure that work across the Scottish Government is most effectively supporting the city’s recovery efforts. It will also oversee the development of a support package to aid in the recovery process.

Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, is joining the group’s meetings with ministerial members including: Kate Forbes, deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for economy and Gaelic; Shona Robison, cabinet secretary for finance and local government; Fiona Hyslop, cabinet secretary for transport; Màiri McAllan, cabinet secretary for housing; and Siobhian Brown, minister for victims and community safety.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has launched a multi-agency investigation into the causes of the fire, which is expected to take time given its scale and complexity.

Ms Constance said: “First and foremost, I want to pay tribute to the emergency services, and particularly the brave firefighters who fought the blaze. It is an incredible relief that there were no casualties and there is no doubt that without their tireless efforts the fire’s impact would have been far greater.

“The fire has left a scene of ruin in the heart of Glasgow and I am determined that the Scottish Government will stand with the city as it recovers.

“The ministerial board has been established to coordinate the Scottish Government’s response. There are the immediate issues of making the site safe and the recovery of the transport network, with significant ongoing work to return rail and road systems back to normality as soon as possible.

“There are also wider impacts to be considered and managed, not least the impact on affected businesses and the recovery of the site. The Board will oversee the development of a support package to aid in the recovery process.

“Undoubtedly this will take time, requiring a significant effort across Government, together with partners and stakeholders. The Ministerial Board will play an integral role to ensure the city can get back on its feet as quickly as possible.”

Updates on the Union Corner Fire can be found at Glasgow City Council’s Union Street Incident page.

Preliminary multi-agency investigation into the cause of the Union Street fire in Glasgow is underway.

The fire started in the ground-floor of a commercial unit, causing the four-story structure to partially collapse.

However, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said it cannot at this early stage speculate on what happened.

Crews are working to cool off hotspots within the stonework and assist structural engineers in assessing the stability of the remaining building.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “This has been a significant incident in Glasgow city centre, which has involved hundreds of firefighters working tirelessly since yesterday afternoon.

“We have now scaled back and eight appliances, including three high-reach vehicles, remain in attendance.

“The initial response involved crews from Glasgow and Lanarkshire, however any incident on this level would need to draw on resources from across Scotland as we bring in relief crews to take over.

“We cannot speculate on the cause of the fire at this time. In line with fire investigation protocols, a multi-agency investigation will be conducted, however due to the significant damage that has occurred this may be hampered.”