Work begins to demolish historic block in Glasgow after it was gutted in devastating vape store fireplace… with employees eradicating one brick at a time
The gruelling task of demolishing the remains of a landmark Glasgow building destroyed by an inferno has begun – with workers taking it down brick by brick.
Suspended more than 150ft in the air by crane, three workers started the laborious process of chiselling away what is left of a chimney once part of the B-listed Union Corner
It was left hanging after the intense blaze, which started in a vape shop, saw the building in Union Street collapse to the dismay of onlookers on Sunday.
Depending on the weather, demolition experts are set to work around the clock to knock down the dangerous ruins so that neighbouring Glasgow Central Station can fully reopen.
The main part of what is Scotland’s busiest railway station is set to stay shut until at least Wednesday, Network Rail Scotland confirmed.
Route director Ross Moran said: ‘We understand how disruptive this is for passengers and the wider city centre.
‘Any phased reopening will depend on demolition progressing to a stage that allows our engineers to safely return.’
After heroic efforts from more than 200 firefighters, the station escaped the worst of the blaze.
Workers were lifted more than 150ft into the air as they began demolition works
Officials say any damage has been contained to a small office on the Union Street side of the transport hub.
Low-level services resumed earlier this week, but the upper section remains closed.
Glasgow City Council said it is in the interests of public safety to demolish what remains of the ‘very unstable’ Victorian building, which continued to collapse since the blaze started.
The fire spread through the building and around the corner, with only the facade of the building at the junction with Gordon Street left standing.
Earlier this week the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service formally handed over control of the site to the city council.
Susan Aitken, Glasgow City Council’s leader, warned the structure currently poses a risk to the public and has been cordoned off to keep people safe.
She said: ‘The structure where the fire was is now very unstable. It has no structural integrity.
‘There’s a kind of a floating chimney stack that’s attached to the top of the wall. So, this is an unstable, dangerous site.
Three workers began work knocking down the ruins of the landmark Union Corner building in Glasgow
‘It is obviously going to cause disruption to people for quite a while, and in particular the shops and the businesses who are within this cordon, and we’re providing as much support for them as we’re able to do.’
She added: ‘It’s going to take us a wee while to recover, but what I want to assure all Glaswegians, and indeed everybody that uses Central station, is that we will work as fast as we possibly can to get back to normality and then to rebuild and regenerate Union Street and Gordon Street.
‘But, in the meantime, it is safety first for everyone and it is the protection of the public that is our number one priority.’
Network Rail said all available options for safely reopening the station were being explored, including whether a partial or phased reopening of some platforms might be possible.
At the height of the incident, 18 fire appliances and specialist resources were at the scene.
Glasgow Central was closed after an inferno in a building next to the busy station
Assistant chief officer Jon Henderson, director of prevention at the fire service, said: ‘This was an incredibly challenging and complex incident which called upon resources and expertise from across the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
‘We are extremely proud of our staff and incredibly thankful to our partners for helping to bring this incident to a safe conclusion.
‘Despite the scale and intensity of this fire, no firefighters or members of the public were hurt and some of Glasgow’s most iconic buildings were saved from further damage.’
