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A building that used to house the Central Bingo Hall in the middle of Barrhead is no more, after it went up in smoke a few days ago. It has been reported that loads of people were evacuated from nearby buildings, while the fire was ripping through the former bingo hall.
It took more than 45 fire fighters from around the county, coming in from as far away as Cumbernauld to tackle the fire, but they were beaten back by the intense heat and flames, as well as the masonry falling of the building. It was then deemed too dangerous for the fire fighters to stay in the building amid fears the ceilings and floors could give way at any second.
The former bingo hall was first built back in the 1030’s and its intended use was to be a cinema for the town, it was turned into a bingo hall back in the 1970’s, but it had been closed for some time before this massive fire struck.
One passerby, said, “It was quite spectacular. Flames were shooting into the night sky and there was a big pall of smoke. There must have been five fire engines at the scene as well as two hydraulic platforms. Firemen with hoses stood on the platforms and poured water into the heart of the fire. And at first light they were still pouring water into the building. It was quite a sight.”
It has also been said, that police are now looking a cctv footage of the street, directly before the fire was reported. It is uncertain as to whether this was a deliberate act, or something else that caused this massive blaze and much disruption for the town.
The fire was so intense that the whole street has to be corned of, with traffic being diverted on another route. John Cooper, who was the fire chief in charge of the whole operation said this, “At one point there was a serious danger of flames spreading from the building to premises on either side. The evacuation of everyone in the public house was carried out as a precaution. But we poured water on to these neighbouring buildings, Bar 51 and The Gym, and that helped prevent the flames spreading. The fire crews, who came from all over, did very well to contain the outbreak to the bingo hall.”
Once the building is deemed safe, the fire service will be able to start their investigation, and the police will also be carrying on their own ongoing inquires into the matter. Six nearby businesses also remained closed yesterday.
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