Glasgow Central Station to stay shut tomorrow after ‘immense damage’ to neighbouring building

Image source, Joe Diaz/Dan Campbell

We’ve been speaking to witnesses who were inside the Union Street building when the fire broke out.

Joe Diaz, 32, and his partner Dan Campbell, 29, were inside the studio at their hair salon on the fourth floor.

The studio is just along the corridor from the building’s dome that caved in on itself after burning for hours.

The couple ran down four flights of stairs with a client to
escape while the building filled with smoke.

Dan said: “I could see a lot of
smoke but I thought it just could be from Blue Lagoon (the nearby chip shop).

“But then I started to see flakes of ash in the air then I
heard a huge bang – that must have been the first explosion so I rushed back to
the salon and told Joe and the client ‘we need to leave now’.

“On the first floor, it was crazy. It was
completely pitch black and filled with smoke. It was impossible not to inhale
it.

“I just remember seeing the sheer panic on my client’s face.
That, with the smoke, was the most horrifying thing.”

After escaping, the couple watched from the street as the fire fully took hold.

Joe said: “It was so heartbreaking. So many of our friends have also lost their businesses. It’s not just how devastated we are for ourselves, it is everybody we know.”