On January 7th 1978, Glasgow very nearly lost one of its landmark hotels - The Grosvenor, on Great Western Road.
The blaze, which was sparked by – what else? – a chip pan, couldn’t have come at a worse time, as, across the country, a national fireman’s strike was in force.The job of fighting the fire fell to an army of young Marines and Naval ratings, armed only with antiquated Green Goddess fire engines.
Thankfully, their actions stopped the blaze, which caused £3m of damage, from spreading to the rest of, the then recently restored, Grosvenor Terrace, built in 1855.
Neighbouring residents were evacuated, many of them bearing their most prized possessions, which included a collection of Ming vases and a pack of five Yorkshire terriers.
For hours, the huge fire lit up the night sky across the city. Thankfully, no one was injured in the blaze. Come morning, the hotel’s owner, Greek-Cypriot-born entrepreneur Reo Stakis, was faced with a smoking ruin.
Four years and millions of pounds later Mr Stakis was able to officiate at the opening of the restored Grosvenor Hotel.
On a lighter note, many, many years after the blaze, a journalist was invited to speak at a regimental dinner. Come the loyal toasts – ‘the Queen’, ‘the Regiment’ – he was surprised that the final toast was to ‘Reo Stakis’.Turns out, the said regiment had helped battle the blaze, and, their first action, deeming it a fire risk, had been to empty the hotel’s cellars and spirit safe of all its vintage wines, whiskies, brandies and Ports – all of which had, somehow, found its way back to their barracks – and they were still working their way through the good stuff! We’re sure you’ll agree that such a buckshee haul of bevvy was a small price to pay the brave servicemen for saving the West End landmark…
