THE community of a popular Glasgow institution will come to terms with their loss today after a fire ripped through the city’s Fruit Market.

Hundreds of workers were just at the beginning of their shift at the Blochairn Fruit Market in the East End when smoke appeared from one of the units after 3.30am yesterday.

The Evening Times understands that the fire started at RS Trading, which is one of the around 40 units who are based there.

The alarms immediately went off and as workers began their evacuation, they watched in horror as a fire formed ripping along the premises’ roof.

Explosions could be heard as the fire tore through the building hitting appliances which exploded.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service rushed to the scene with initially two appliances but as the blaze built up, over 70 firefighters worked to bring it under control.

One eyewitness said: “There was smoke everywhere within seconds and when the Fire Brigade arrived 10 minutes after the alarm, that is when the fire properly ignited. From there it just went into mayhem.”

Most of the workers were outside when the blaze started and made a calm evacuation, which meant there was no injuries.

Lorry drivers who had travelled from as far as Holland were woken by the workers as they slept in their vehicles and told to evacuate.

Firefighters then worked for hours to extinguish the well-formed fire and save the Fruit Market.

But in the daylight, it appeared the damage had been done with several units gone with the flames and parked vehicles also damaged.

The eyewitness added: “I have worked here all my life and this is upsetting to see. I would say the majority of the units are down.

“There is nothing left of the section that went on fire. Some of the companies won’t recover from this and people will lose their jobs.”

The Fruit Market is one of the country’s main hubs for fruit and vegetable supplies. There are also units which supply flowers and other produce.

Customers turned up at the site yesterday morning to show their support for the workers who were told by employers to ‘stand by’.

Florist and lecturer Rosemae Burns, who runs Rosemae’s Blooms & Balloons in Irvine, said: “I am gutted for them but happy they are all safe.

“I have been coming here for 15 years and can’t believe what has happened.”

David Quinn, whose family own Mr Michael’s Florist in Bellshill, has been a regular at the Fruit Market since he was a child.

The 38-year-old said: “ I grew up in the flower trade and the Fruit Market has a lot of memories for me.

“I am shocked and gutted for the workers. It’s a sad day and I hope it survives this fire.”

The Fruit Market is also popular with East End families on a Sunday who travel there for the weekly car boot sale.

Lyndsay Robertson, from Barlornock, visited the site yesterday to see the aftermath, said: “It’s devastating for the whole area, the whole community.

“There is loads of people employed at the fruitmarket. They are not going to know if they have a job to go to next week or next month.

“Everyone goes to the Blochairn market on a Sunday. There is the car boot sale and it has the best caramel cake in the city.”

She added: “Kids in this area will be devastated as that is a regular thing on a Sunday. I know my friend’s wee boy is absolutely heartbroken.

“A lot of people in this community will be heartbroken. It’s been there forever and it’s part of the community.”

Today, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will begin their investigations to determine the cause of the blaze.

Incident commander Deputy Assistant Chief Officer John Joyce said: “There is no doubt that this has been an extremely challenging incident, however, the response and professionalism from our firefighters has been outstanding.”

“The fire developed rapidly - however thanks to our quick assessment and action plans that were put into place we were able to protect not only the community from harm, but ensure that the fire did not spread further in the market.”