Remembering Glasgow 'terror blaze' which swept through Cowcaddens supermarket

The fire at the Grandfare store started in the basement shortly after 9.30 on September 16, 1966, but it was not until later in the afternoon that it was finally brought under control.

Members of staff saw smoke in the basement and everyone was quickly evacuated before the fire could spread.

James Watt Street fire, 1968 Pic: Newsquest

At its height, windows were shattered in the intense heat and slabs of masonry fell to the ground, forcing a number of firemen to leap to safety.

As the flames leapt 50 feet above the building, a fire tender was struck by falling masonry. The thick pall of smoke could be seen for miles around.

The premises of the Northern division of Glasgow City Police offices, immediately behind the supermarket, had to be evacuated. Fears were voiced that the building might collapse and fracture the roof of the Underground tunnel.

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The firefighting operation involved more 150 firemen using 22 tenders, four turntable ladders and the latest type of “bubblebath” foam apparatus.

Glasgow Salvage Corps said it was “one of the biggest and most extensive in the city in recent years.”

An all-night watch was kept on the building as it was in danger of collapsing; and as dawn broke, firefighters, using searchlights, were still pouring water onto the burnt-out shell.

On the Saturday morning, as demolition workers moved in, watched by a crowd of people, small fires were still burning, here and there.

The Evening Times reported: “Only the shell of the 80-year-old building remains and the damage will run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

“STV viewers saw a live transmission as more than 150 firemen using 22 tenders, four turntable ladders and the new foam apparatus fought the fierce blaze.

“Cameras on the roof of the Theatre Royal studios in Hop Street, which is opposite the self-service store in Cowcaddens – enabled pictures of the fire to replace the usual test card.

“The transmission also assisted police and firemen by asking for owners to move cars from the area and giving details of rerouting buses.

“The city’s underground was closed at midday because of the tremendous volume of water flowing away from the blaze and the possibility of the building collapsing on the tunnel.”

Glasgow earned its nickname ‘Tinderbox City’ after a string of fires much deadlier than the Grandfare blaze.

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In 1949, 13 young women, six of them teenagers, died in a fire at the Graftons fashion store on Argyle Street.

In 1960, 19 people were killed when the Cheapside Street whisky bond went up in flames.

Cheapside Street fire, 1960. Pic: Newsquest (Image: Newsquest)

Worse was to come when 22 furniture factory workers were killed in the James Watt Street fire in 1968.

In 1953, at Leon & Co on Ballater Street, firefighters tried desperately to rescue five employees, but sadly four of them died. Glasgow Fire Service received three George Medals, two British Empire Medals and three Queen’s Commendations for bravery – the largest number of civilian bravery awards in a single incident for their valiant efforts.

In 1951, the Arnott Simpson department store wiped out a major landmark in the city centre.

It was already an inferno when the fire service was called. Windows blew out and fire blazed from every opening.

In October 1960, 14 fire crew were injured tackling a fire at Woolworths on Argyle Street. It was the second blaze to hit the chain store in just a few months – earlier in May, the Sauchiehall Street branch had to be evacuated when a fire broke out, although no-one was injured.

In 1958, a match or cigarette dropped in a storage area was thought to be the cause of a fire at the Barrowland Ballroom.

In October 1962, the St Andrew’s Halls on Berkeley Street were almost completely destroyed in a fire which threatened the adjoining Mitchell Library.