What happened on Cheapside Street in Glasgow?

On 29 March 1960 a fast burning fire broke out at a whiskey facility warehouse on Cheapside Street, Glasgow. The Cheapside Street whisky bond fire would later be described as ‘the worst peacetime disaster in the history of the British fire service’.

A 999 call was received at 19:15 pm. When the fire services arrived they witnessed smoke coming from all levels of the warehouse. They tried to enter via the #1 bond warehouse, but the door of metal-lined construction was internally bolted and difficult to force open.

By 19:49, just 34 minutes after the initial call, an explosion had reduced the building to rubble. 14 Glasgow firemen and five warehouse personnel tragically lost their lives.

The explosion was followed by a rapidly spreading fire, bursting whiskey cases and cascading liquid running fires. The fire produced a rich explosive atmosphere amid the flammable alcohol - the warehouse held more than 1,000,000 gallons of whiskey, which is 60% alcohol by volume.

The fire service battled against overwhelming odds and managed to bring the fire under control at 06:18 am.

How did the Cheapside Street whisky bond fire start?

An inquest into the cause of the fire could not determine the initial cause, however the investigation did establish that the building had recently been converted into a whisky store and that smoking was banned from the premises.

What can the industry learn from the Cheapside whisky bond fire?

It’s believed that the building was very poorly ventilated in relation to its size. When the fire service entered to locate the fire an over-rich atmosphere began to dilute, producing an ideal mixture which, when it reached an ignition source (i.e. the fire already inside the building), caused a catastrophic explosion.