Man's body discovered after blaze rips through tenement

A man has died in a fire that took hold of a tenement building in Glasgow.

Nine fire engines were dispatched to McCulloch Street in Pollokshields at around 1.15pm on Tuesday after the alarm was raised.

Residents, including entire families, had to be evacuated from the three-storey block.

Crews were battling the well-developed blaze for hours before it was eventually extinguished.

The man’s body was then found within the property by emergency services.

The Pollokshields Trust project says it has 15 families displaced by the blaze with nothing by the clothes on their backs.

First Minster Nicola Sturgeon, whose constituency includes Pollokshields, tweeted a message of support on Tuesday.

She wrote: “Really distressing situation for the families affected by this terrible fire in McCulloch Street. I know the Pollokshields community will rally round as it always does.

“My constituency office also stands ready to offer any assistance necessary.”

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and Police Scotland are carrying out a joint investigation into the blaze, which is currently being treated as unexplained.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Around 1.30pm on Tuesday, June 1, police were called to a fire at a flat in Lincluden Path, McCulloch Street, Glasgow.

“Emergency services attended and residents were evacuated from the building. The body of a man was found within the property.

“The fire is currently being treated as unexplained and a joint investigation between Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is ongoing.”

Roddie Keith, SFRS local senior officer for Glasgow, said: “We were alerted at 1.14pm on Tuesday, June 1 to reports of a fire within a three-storey tenement building in McCulloch Street, Glasgow.

“Operations Control mobilised nine fire appliances and further specialist units including an aerial ladder platform to the scene and firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the fire.

“Crews assisted in the removal of a man from an adjacent property but, sadly, he passed away.

“Our thoughts are very much with his family, friends and the wider community at this difficult time.

“A joint investigation alongside Police Scotland colleagues is ongoing.”