A "wilful" fire in Glasgow has been deemed a "depressing act of self-harm" for the community, as a tenement block was ravaged by a fire amid "disinformation" in the area.
Six fire appliances, along with special high-reach equipment, were on scene Sunday night as smoke billowed from the derelict building, which is undergoing a multi-million-pound development.
Read More: LIVE updates 'wilful' tenement fire in Possilpark Glasgow
The building on Stonyhurst Street in Possilpark was "set alight" at around 4.48pm on Sunday before police cordoned off the area while fire crews dealt with the blaze.
Scottish Labour MSP Paul Sweeney was at the scene and spoke to our reporter. He claimed that it was "clearly wilful fire-raising" which "happened as a result of online misinformation."
NG Homes is currently refurbishing the three empty tenement blocks in Stonyhurst Street, creating 23 affordable rented flats.
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The association said it has secured funding to bring the buildings up to modern standards, with work intended to make the homes safe, warm, and energy-efficient.
NG Homes has also said the properties will be allocated from its existing housing list in line with its allocations policy and Scottish housing legislation, rejecting misinformation about the intended occupants.
Paul Sweeney said: "The tenements here in Possilpark have been subject to what is quite obviously an act of wilful fire-raising.
"It’s just depressing, after so much work that’s gone in from people across the community for several years to try and get the investment to refurbish these tenements, which have sat vacant, to then see an act of vandalism like this based on disinformation and the malicious spreading of lies by certain people on social media.
"They have got an agenda, either a racist agenda or simply wanting to push clicks on social media, because the more outrageous you can get, the more engagement you get. That’s the upshot of it. We’re now seeing multi-million-pound investment to improve housing in one of the most deprived communities in Scotland being destroyed in front of our eyes here.
"It is an act of complete self-harm to the community. Really, really depressing to see. I hope that this will be a reality check. This was never intended to be housing for people seeking asylum or people who are refugees. It was intended for people on the housing waiting list for NG Homes, the biggest social landlord in the area.
"So, for a start, what was being claimed was inaccurate. If anyone had bothered to concern themselves with the facts of the matter, rather than just what they were hearing from idiots who don’t know what they’re talking about, then they would have known that.
"But it’s just depressing to see this project being set back this way. From what I can see, although the roof on the end close has been destroyed by the fire, the building’s structural integrity does not seem to be too badly compromised. So hopefully it will not disrupt the project to renovate the building too much.
"These are 23 much-needed flats. We have thousands of people on the housing waiting list in Glasgow, a homelessness emergency, and loads of people looking to move house within NG Homes’ existing stock. This was what it was about. It was for the community. It is for the community.
"The idea that it is somehow for strangers is completely wrong. We need to nip this in the bud before things go out of control any further."
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were at the scene with several appliances and specialist high-reach equipment to tackle the blaze.
A spokesperson said on Sunday evening: “We were alerted at 4.48pm on Sunday, 6 September, to reports of a dwelling fire on Barloch Street, Glasgow.
“Operations Control mobilised six appliances and specialist resources to the scene, where firefighters are working to extinguish a fire affecting the fourth floor of a tenement building.
“Crews remain in attendance.”
Three fire appliances remained on scene as of 8.15pm.
Police Scotland has been contacted for comment.
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