Vape Shop Fire Devastates Glasgow Icon

0:00On March 10th, a fire broke out in a vape shop on Union Street in Glasgow on Sunday afternoon, started by a bank of chargers under the counter. A passerby rushed inside to battle the flames, but backed out after two explosions rocked the place. The blaze tore through a historic four-story Victorian building, causing a partial collapse and forcing the shutdown of neighbouring Glasgow Central. Station. 42-year-old chef Lamine Kangira spotted the smoke while walking by and grabbed a fire extinguisher from a nearby subway shop. He tried to put out the fire but set a grue to fierce, with blasts that left him with headaches from smoke inhalation. Fire crews arrived soon after, but couldn't stop the spread right away. Business owners in the building are heartbroken, saying they've lost everything from tattoo parlors and hair salons to beauty studios. One tattoo shop owner mentioned buying his first house and learning his wife is pregnant just before this hit. Locals call it devastating for such an iconic spot built in 1851.

1:01An MSP compared the wreckage to the blitz, and even Downing Street praised the firefighter's bravery. Several shops fled as smoke filled the floors, with some owners now crowdfunding to rebuild since they lacked insurance. Glasgow Central Station stays closed at least through Tuesday, scrambling trains across the city with replacement buses in place. Officials are checking the site's safety, worried the rest of the facade might need to come down too, as the community rallies around those hit, hardest.