SuppliedA teenager who grabbed a fire extinguisher to try to put out a fire that engulfed a building in Glasgow city centre says he was running on “pure adrenaline”.
Callum Robertson, from Uddingston, happened upon the smoke billowing from a vape shop on Union Street in on Sunday after getting off a train with his friend.
They were among the first on the scene as the fire took hold.
The 17-year-old told STV News that he ran into several stores to get a fire extinguisher before getting a CO2 extinguisher from a nearby Subway.
In footage widely shared on social media, Callum and a 42-year-old Gambian man attempted to use the extinguisher to put out the flames.
Lamin Kongira can be seen, in footage filmed by Callum’s friend, entering the store and using the extinguisher to douse the flames.
Callum recalled arriving on scene and finding out that emergency services had already been contacted.
He told STV News: “I don’t know what was going through me, it was pure adrenaline. I thought I had to do something.
“I ran over with the CO2 extinguisher but I couldn’t pull the pin out. I was nervous. Lamin took it off me, yanked the pin off and went in.”
Network Rail ScotlandCallum says he went to get another extinguisher from Sexy Coffee, which was then used by another man in an attempt to stop the spread.
By this point, as seen in the footage, bystanders had begun to flee from the developing fire and Callum joined others in urging people to get back.
Garry McHargHe added: “It took me a minute to process what was going on, my adrenaline was going through me so much.
“I didn’t expect the whole shop to go up like that. It was something else, I couldn’t believe it was happening.”
Callum and his friend left the scene as the fire grew and returned around half an hour later to find the building engulfed.
The teen praised the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for their quick response to the fire and those who helped to get people away from the scene.
Mr Kongira, speaking to STV News on Monday, said was walking along Union Street on Sunday afternoon when a shopkeeper began shouting that the fire had broken out.
The 42-year-old chef believed “somebody had to step in” to save the building and went inside, where he saw a fire coming from behind a counter.
However, after the first explosion, Mr Kongira, who has lived in Glasgow for 16 years, realised he couldn’t control it.
He then quickly left the store just before the second explosion and urged members of the public to get as far away as possible.
He told STV News: “I wasn’t thinking of myself, to be honest with you, I was thinking of the structure of that building I was in.
“If I could, I would save it, but unfortunately, my effort was pointless. I’ve done my best now.
“I heard the shopkeeper shouting that there was a fire. I looked and saw a small fire. I asked the shopkeeper if he had a fire extinguisher, but he said no.
“I had to quickly run next door and grab a fire extinguisher from there. When that had run out, we couldn’t do any more.”
More than 200 firefighters have been involved in the incident, with 18 fire engines and a specialist resource deployed to the scene at the height of the blaze.
Only the facade of the building at the corner of Gordon Street and Union Street has been left standing.
A large number of businesses have been destroyed by the flames. The B-listed building has been an ever-present in Mr Kongira’s life since he arrived in the city back in 2008.
Mr Kongira added: “After 15 years, every day I passed this building.
“It’s something that is also part of me living here for 15 good years.
“So this building is part of me. So if I can put my life to save it, like what I did yesterday, I would do it, and that’s what I did yesterday.”
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