Town centre blaze tackled by dozens of firefighters
A MAJOR fire ripped through a solicitors and property office in Bishopbriggs causing terrified residents to be evacuated from their homes.
The fire broke out at the Hennessy Bowie premises, above the Royal Bank of Scotland branch at Bishopbriggs Cross, on Sunday at around 4pm.
At the height of the blaze, around 50 firefighters and nine appliances were in attendance. A fire chief described the incident as a “potential disaster”.
Flames and smoke billowed from the first floor of the tenement building, at the corner of Kenmure Avenue and Kirkintilloch Road.
As shocked crowds of people looked on police cordoned off the area.
It’s understood the fire was contained to one room in the Hennessy Bowie offices and there was smoke damage to other rooms.
There was also smoke damage to the flats above the office, but it’s believed the RBS premises underneath were not affected.
Fire crews remained at the building this morning (Monday) as a precautionary measure.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
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TERRIFIED residents were evacuated from their homes after a blaze ripped through a solicitors and property office in Bishopbriggs.
The fire broke out at the Hennessy Bowie premises, above the Royal Bank of Scotland branch at Bishopbriggs Cross, on Sunday at around 4pm.
At the height of the blaze, around 50 firefighters were in attendance. A fire chief described the incident as a “potential disaster”.
Flames and smoke billowed from the first floor of the tenement building, at the corner of Kenmure Avenue and Kirkintilloch Road.
As shocked crowds of people looked on police cordoned off the area.
It’s understood the fire was contained to one room in the Hennessy Bowie offices and there was smoke damage to other rooms.
There was also smoke damage to the flats above the office, but it’s believed the RBS premises underneath were not affected.
Fire crews remained at the building on Monday morning as a precautionary measure.
Drew Lochhead, crew commander at Bishopbriggs Fire Station, said: “The fire had the potential to be a disaster.
“However, because of the timing we managed to get in and get it under control very quickly and stop it from spreading.
“We were first in attendance. Within 20 minutes the fire was under control.”
Local resident Donald Macdonald witnessed the fire.
He said: “By the time I got there smoke billowed from where the windows had been before blowing out onto the pavement below.
“There were also wisps of smoke seen rising from between the roof tiles.
“A crowd of between 50 and 70 people were watching from the other side of the Cross area.”
As the Herald went to print, an employee at Hennessy Bowie said they had not yet been in the building to assess the damage.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
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Weather for Kirkintilloch
Sunday 19 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North west
