Tesco retailer ‘evacuated’ after main hearth sparks ‘complete panic’
A car, believed to be an electric vehicle, burst into flames at the underground car park of Glasgow’s Maryhill Tesco at around 4.21pm on Friday and sparked the store into an evacuation
The Tesco Extra in Maryhill has been evacuated because of a fire in the car park
A Tesco supermarket in Glasgow needed to be evacuated after a car fire caused a massive blaze in an underground car park.
The vehicle, thought to be an electric model, caught fire near the Maryhill store around 4.21pm on Friday. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service dispatched two engines to combat the blaze, with bystanders witnessing plumes of thick black smoke billowing from the car park entrance.
Eyewitnesses report that staff and shoppers were swiftly ushered out of the store in case the fire spread. The cause of the blaze remains unknown. Police are present at the scene, having cordoned off the car park, and there are still believed to traffic issues caused by the closures.
The cause of the fire is unknown (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
One local resident living opposite the store described it as a scene of utter chaos, reports Glasgow Live.
Ryan, 26, an energy consultant, shared with Glasgow Live: “I was just coming home on the bus and I saw the smoke which looked like it was coming out the roof of the Tesco store.
“Then when I rounded the corner to get to my flat I saw it was a car on fire. It looks like an electric car, although I’ve no idea how it started.
“The staff and customers were being evacuated and it was total panic. They are just standing outside now waiting for the firefighters to finish.”
Tesco have said it’s closed the store
A second witness warned on a local Facebook page: “There is a fire in the car park of the big Tesco on Maryhill Road. The smoke is travelling across the street. The Fire Service and Police are here.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service stated: “We received a call at 4.21pm to reports of a car on fire at the Tesco supermarket on Maryhill Road in Glasgow. We mobilised two appliances and are still at the scene.”
Police Scotland have been contacted for a statement.
A spokesperson for Tesco stated: “Our Glasgow Maryhill Extra store is temporarily closed due to a fire in the car park which has now been extinguished. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
