Susan Aitken: Difficult days for Glasgow after Sauchiehall Street fire

For all the challenges it faces, Sauchiehall Street is synonymous with Glasgow and only the amazing work of our Fire and Rescue teams ensured this blaze was prevented from ripping through the heart of our city.

This was an extremely serious, complex and challenging situation and we owe the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and all our first responders a huge debt of gratitude for bringing the fire under control.

The first job of the response teams was to protect life and limb and property and the emergency teams did a phenomenal job.

Despite the seriousness of the fire, only four people required hospital treatment for smoke inhalation. It might sound like a cliche but partnership working did what it is supposed to do and all our procedures kicked in.

Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken

I visited the scene on Friday afternoon, when it became safe to do so, and was taken aback by the extent of the devastation and scale of the area affected.

At the same time our resilience and building control staff attended a multi-agency meeting. It will be some time before this section of the city centre returns to something approaching normal, so we have now started to put longer-terms plans into place.

READ MORE: ‘They can’t be saved’ - Fire-damaged Sauchiehall Street block to be demolished in TWO-MONTH operation

Over the weekend, the Fire and Rescue Service continued to damp down the building but thankfully they were able to confirm late on Friday that there was no risk of asbestos having been spread by the fire.

What the next crucial task will be is the assessment of just how dangerous the buildings are. The likelihood is they will pose a significant public safety risk and at the time of writing colleagues within the council’s building control were waiting for the fires to be completely extinguished before making their inspections.

But this stretch of Sauchiehall Street and Renfrew Lane will need to remain closed for the foreseeable future.

One of the city council’s key responsibilities as a responder is the knock-on to our people of events such as this. We made a number of rest centres available but, due to the non-residential nature of the main affected area, did not have to provide shelter to anyone who was made homeless. These were stood down even before the weekend.

We also need to respond to the business impacted by the fire.

Specialist council staff have been briefed to handle calls from affected businesses and will be on hand to offer advice and support to any company that contacts our Business Support teams. Many of our staff have pre-existing relationships with city centre businesses and will use this experience to provide reassurance and advice as required. Where we can, we will also offer assistance to any business regarding relocation or temporary accommodation.

READ MORE: Mrs Brown’s Boys star’s heartwarming message to Pavilion after fire

Elsewhere, at the time of writing, colleagues within Glasgow Life were preparing to make contact with the Pavilion to see whether there is help they can offer in relocating shows. And staff in Land and Environmental Services have been working with the police to strengthen the road closures and put in place diversions. We will continue to work with bus companies over the impact of road closures on the travelling public.

In the longer term we will together see how we can turn this adversity into an opportunity for this iconic street. Right now we will be at the forefront of efforts to navigate our way through this most unfortunate situation.

Glasgow was recently described as “Europe’s secret city”, somewhere too often overlooked by holiday makers. Last week we launched our new tourism strategy and one of the stories we’re keen to tell is about the areas where our vitality, hospitality, creativity and culture can be experienced at their heart, in our neighbourhoods.

I cannot think of a major UK city outwith London, not Manchester, not Liverpool, not Bristol, which can do what Glasgow can now do and so many great European destinations do and sell itself on its ‘barrios’.

Just 15 years ago Finnieston was looking like an increasingly abandoned corridor linking the city centre with the west end. Now look at it thrive.

The traditional west end goes from strength to strength, Shawlands and Strathbungo have their own, grassroots scenes, Dennistoun really has come of age again and we can now see the huge strides the Calton and Barras area has made. I believe, with venues such as St Luke’s and the Barras Art and Design, we’re really on the cusp of bringing this long neglected area into our tourism offering. Our neighbourhoods really are part of our USP. Celebrate them.