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BBC radio show taken off air and office evacuated after fire breaks out

. 2 days ago
Fire engines outside BBC Scotland headquarters in Glasgow early this morning after a fire broke out
Fire engines were on the scene in minutes after a fire was reported at BBC Scotland (Picture: BBC)

BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast was yanked off air this morning after a fire started in the broadcaster’s Scottish headquarters.

The BBC Scotland headquarters in Glasgow evacuated all staff after a fire alarm sounded at around 6:30am on Monday.

The Scottish breakfast show quickly switched from a live broadcast to pre-recorded music, while breakfast television news bulletins from Scotland were also suspended.

It’s thought that the fire broke out in a plant room on the Pacific Quay building’s fifth floor, at roof level. 

At least seven fire engines arrived at the scene within minutes of the incident’s reporting, with the alarm reportedly originally raised by a member of the BBC’s security staff.

A BBC Scotland spokesperson told BBC News: ‘We’re grateful to the emergency services for their rapid deployment on site.

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2WMXEK0 Glasgow Scotland: 13th Feb 2024: BBC Pacific Quay sunny day BBC Scotland on River Clyde
The whole of the BBC’s staff were evacuated from the Pacific Quay building on the River Clyde (Picture: Alamy)

‘We’re working hard to ensure the safety of all of our colleagues and will restore our regular services on air as soon as we can.’

BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast was able to come back on air at 8:36am, where they explained to listeners what had been happening.

‘Our apologies for having to bail out,’ presenter Laura Maciver began.

‘It’s been quite the morning – we had a fire in the building, and for the last two hours we have been outside waiting,’ her co-host added.

‘It wasn’t just a dry run, it wasn’t a false alarm – there was a proper fire. We could see flames on the roof of the building from the outside, but the fire is out, the firefighters have gone and we’re back with you.’

Laura continued: ‘But thank you to them, thank you to the fire fighters, to the security staff and to the hotel across the river, who gave us coffee and bacon rolls.’

They also thanked Radio 5 Live for filling in their airwaves while they were waiting outside.

All under one banner members take part in a static Indy Ref2 rally outside the headquarters of BBC Scotland on September 17, 2020 in Glasgow, Scotland. The location of the rally was changed from George Square to Pacific Quay after BBC Scotland made the controversial decision to scale back there coverage of daily Covid-19 briefings in Scotland. (Photo by Ewan Bootman/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast’s team confirmed it hadn’t been a false alarm, with flames seen on the roof (Picture: Getty)

Laura and Martin Geissler only started presenting the new flagship breakfast radio show a week ago, replacing the long-running Good Morning Scotland on Monday November 24.

BBC Radio Scotland’s Phil Goodlad also presents the sports news on the show, which runs from 6am to 9am Monday to Friday.

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