Glasgow fire: Residents warned about smoke as huge blaze breaks out at building

Residents were last night warned about smoke following a large fire in a city.

Photographs show flames roar from a building on Benview Street in the Ruchill area of Glasgow, where locals were advised to keep windows and doors closed. Three fire crews rushed to the scene around 8.09pm on Friday after the alarm was raised.

It happened near Murano Street Student Village, accommodation for the University of Glasgow, where overseas students remain ahead of the new academic year. Students and families across the Ruchill neighbourhood were warned about the smoke during the emergency service's operation.

But no casualties were reported following the blaze, thought to have happened at an abandoned building. The cause of the fire is not yet known at this stage.

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Photos show flames engulfing the property, and capture the black smoke drifting over the surrounding area in Glasgow. It is believed residents in the Murano Street, Bilsland Drive, Lenny Street and Benview Street areas were particularly affected by smoke.

Speaking last night as the operation reached a conclusion, a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "We received the initial call at 8:09 to a report of a building on fire in Ruchill Park area of Glasgow. We mobilised two appliances and a height appliance to the scene. Crews are still there and there are no reported casualties."

Police are now assisting to establish the cause of the fire. A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: "Police are assisting Scottish Fire and Rescue Service colleagues at the scene of a large fire at a derelict building on Benview Street, Ruchill, Glasgow.

"Due to the heavy smoke from the fire, local residents are advised to avoid Ruchill Park, and to keep windows and doors closed, especially in the areas of Murano Street, Bilsland Drive, Benview Street, Lenny Street. Enquiries into the cause of the fire are continuing."

Last week, firefighters had encouraged families in Liverpool to keep their doors and windows closed - due to a large blaze at a former country house. Crews dashed to Woolton Hall, an 18th century mansion in Liverpool, after it caught alight at around 8pm on Tuesday. They remained at the three-storey stone built building for several hours, tackling the blaze as it grew in size and ferocity.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service issued updates to the media, the first of which urged people to avoid the area. Its first statement read: "Fire crews have been called to a fire at Woolton Hall, Speke Road, Woolton, Liverpool this evening. Crews were alerted at 8.09pm and on scene at 8.16pm, with five fire engines and an aerial appliance in attendance. Crews arrived to find a three storey stone built building fully involved in fire around 40 by 30 metres in size."