Concerns for Scotland’s fire service after no high ladder engine available at blaze

Glasgow's only fire engine with a high-reach ladder was unavailable on Sunday as an office block was gutted

Concerns have been raised about the capacity of Scotland's fire service to deal with large fires like the one that gutted a Victorian office block in Glasgow as it emerged that the city's only remaining fire engine with a high-reach ladder was unavailable on Sunday.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that, while standard city-based fire engines were on the scene within minutes of the first 999 call, the nearest available high-reach appliance - which adds vital additional capacity to tackle a large blaze - came from Coatbridge, an 18km, 26-minute drive away in light traffic.