A SCOTTISH actor known for his roles in River City and Chewin’ the Fat has described the moment he watched a Glasgow tenement collapse.
Tom Urie, who played “Big Bob” in the long-running BBC Scotland soap, said in a video posted to Facebook that he had been the one to call in the emergency services after the collapse of a derelict building on Kenmure Street.
The fire service sent eight appliances to the scene at around 12.09am on Saturday, with residents of neighbouring buildings evacuated for safety.
Urie posted a picture of the collapsed building on his Facebook, writing: “Actually ran for the first time since I was eight. Felt like Indiana Jones. The Pollokshields version.”
He posted one video showing dust clouds rising into the air after the collapse, and a second explaining the incident.
He said: “I was out tonight and I got home and I parked the car around the corner, and as I was walking around the corner, I was looking at the building on the corner – which has been lying derelict for five years since there was a fire – thinking it's about time they demolished that.
“And then I started hearing really weird noises, like crackling noises, like it was raining really heavily, and I looked up and the building was looking weird, so I ran across the street as it collapsed, managed to get my phone out, turned round and the building's gone.”
Urie went on: “It was going to get demolished anyway, I think, but I would hate to think what would have happened if it had happened during the day. But nobody was in it. It's alright.
“I got a fright, but obviously loved getting caught up in the drama, so I phoned the police, of course, because I've been watching 9/11 religiously I knew how to be concise and tell them exactly where it was in the postcode, and there was no danger and all that.
“The street is now completely full of fire engines and police and all sorts.
“So there you go, mental.”
An SFRS spokesperson said: "We were alerted at 12.09am on Saturday, July 12 to reports of a collapsed derelict building on Kenmure Street in Glasgow.
"Operations control mobilised eight appliances to the scene.
"A number of nearby residents have been evacuated as firefighters work to make the area safe.
"There are no reported casualties."
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said an inspection of the site will be carried out later on Saturday.
