Firemen climb 23 storeys to fight fatal fire

Press, 30 August 1977, Page 8

Firemen climb 23 storeys to fight fatal fire

NZPA Glasgow A 12-year-old boy died yesterday when a blaze, belived to have been started by vandals, brought a “Towering Inferno” terror to a Glasgow tower block.

Firemen had to climb 23 floors to reach the blaze because the lifts stopped, as they were designed to do in the event of fire. Two firemen were injured — one overcome by smoke, the other’s hand was gashed. The fire began in an empty flat, and angry residents claimed it was the second in five days.

The dead boy, Andrew Forrest, was sleeping in the flat next door and was trapped by a jammed door. His father and a neighbour, Mr John McGrory, aged 23, desperately tried to reach him but were eventually beaten back by flames.

More than 80 firemen fought the blaze in the 30storey Red Road building reported to be the tallest council flat block in Europe. The police said that in-, vestigations were still going on. But Mr McGrory said: “The cause was definitely vandalism. I heard noise of windows smashing and then an explosion. “The flat is inhabited, but the family is away on holiday.” He had to make four trips by stairs to take his wife, two children, and neighbours to safety. On his return he discovered that Andrew was trapped. People living directly below and above the twentythird floor were evacuated to a local school for the night; At one time four families were trapped on the top floor but they kept in telephone contact with the police, and had been in no danger.