Quick thinking gets businesses back up and running one day on from blaze
TRADING is underway again at Blochairn Fruit Market following a huge fire which broke out at the site in the early hours of Thursday morning.
At its height more than 70 firefighters battled the blaze, and while Scottish Fire and Rescue Service crews remain at the scene trading has resumed at the Glasgow site.
Gary Williamson, managing director of Inverness based Williamson Foodservice told Scottish Grocer how his staff had been on site when the fire broke out.
Williamson said staff were in the middle of loading produce onto an artic lorry, but the truck load had to be abandoned because of the fire.
“That was primarily all the goods we had to distribute today (18 August) in the Highlands,” he said.
Willamson Foodservice distributes produce to businesses in some of the most remote parts of Scotland, from Skye and Orkney to rural villages such as Laide, west of Ullapool.
Despite losing a lorry load of stock, Williamson said his team snapped into action, putting contingencies in place.
“We immediately went into overdrive and started putting alternatives into place.
‘We were fortunate that he had produce coming over from Holland, so we trunked that up to Inverness.
“We also had a vehicle coming up from Manchester repurposed and sent straight on to Inverness,” he said.
Thanks to the swift work, Williamson said his firm was up to 98% availability by midnight.
“Fair play to everyone involved, both our guys and our suppliers,” he said.
While Williamson Foodservice is not currently operating out of the Glasgow depot, as its unit is still without electricity, Williamson said power has been restored to the market’s main trading area, and the MD said he was surprised by how quickly the traders have got organised and back to work.
“When the fire was happening we were getting all sorts of reports and what we were stuck looking at, we thought ‘this market is gone’, but it would appear the smoke was covering a lot.
“The part that was destroyed is destroyed, but what’s left is, under the circumstances, in good condition,” he said.
In a statement, deputy assistant chief officer John Joyce of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “There is no doubt that this has been an extremely challenging incident, however the response and professionalism from our firefighters has been outstanding.
“The fire developed rapidly – however thanks to our quick assessment and action plans that were put into place we were able to protect not only the community from harm, but ensure that the fire did not spread further in the market.”
There have been no reported injuries or casualties as a result of the fire.
• More reaction to follow in Scottish Grocer, September 2017
