Fire which ripped through Glasgow tenement started deliberately

Police say a fire, which took hold of an empty Glasgow tenement, was started deliberately.

Emergency services were called to Stonyhurst Street in Possilpark at around 5pm on Sunday after a blaze broke out at the property.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) deployed six appliances and a height vehicle to the scene to battle the flames overnight.

Police Scotland has now confirmed that the incident is being treated as “wilful”. There was no reports of any injuries.

Detective Inspector Neil Martin said: “The fire is being treated as wilful and we are asking anyone who saw anything suspicious around the time of the incident to get in touch.

“Fortunately no one was injured but this kind of reckless activity is not acceptable and caused serious disruption in the area.

“Please also check any private CCTV that you have and let us know if something has been captured that could assist with our investigation. Likewise, if you were driving in the area check dash-cam and call us if you have footage that could assist.”

Those with information are urged to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 2447 of Sunday, September 6.

Developers hit back at misinformation

The tenement has been the subject to rumour since renovations, lead by NG Homes, were announced.

Anti-immigration groups have claimed that the flats would be used to house asylum seekers; however, the property developers issued a statement confirming that the building was being turned into affordable housing.

A spokesperson said: “We are aware that disinformation has circulated regarding the future use of the homes and would once again stress that these claims are false.

“The buildings are being refurbished to provide much-needed affordable homes and, as we have previously stated, these properties will be allocated in line with our Allocations Policy and Scottish housing legislation from our existing housing list.

“As a registered social landlord, we do not allocate housing to people who are not legally eligible for it, and all applications are assessed in accordance with the relevant legal requirements.”

It is currently the responsibility of the Home Office to find suitable accommodation for those seeking asylum.

Fire crews on scene of a tenement fire in Glasgow. STV News

Asylum seekers are unable to apply for social housing through the local authority.

NG Homes said the extent of the damage is still being assessed, and it is “too early to confirm the impact on project timescales”.

They added: “Our focus remains on supporting the investigation and progressing the delivery of these much-needed homes for the Possilpark community as quickly as possible.”

First Minister John Swinney also spoke about the fire, vowing that “all the force of the law” will be applied if the tenement fire was deliberate.

He added: “I am familiar with the information that’s been circulating about the suggestion that this could have been wilful fire-raising, because of concern that the accommodation was to host migrants.

“Now, whether that’s the case or not, it is completely and utterly unacceptable, because wilful fireraising is a criminal offence in our society.

“Those involved should be apprehended whatever the circumstances, and whether this accommodation was to be used to house migrants or not, this type of behaviour is completely and utterly unacceptable and it must be addressed.”