Renfrew tyre fire: Massive blaze 'started deliberately' Published duration 11 July 2014

image copyright SFRS image caption About 75 firefighters were on the scene at the height of the blaze

A massive fire at a tyre recycling depot in Renfrewshire was started deliberately, police have said.

About 75 firefighters worked through the night to contain the blaze at the facility at Meadowside Street, Renfrew, on the banks of the River Clyde,

They responded to a high number of 999 calls at about 22:00 on Thursday, after a huge plume of black smoke drifted across Renfrewshire and Glasgow.

There are no reports of any injuries and the blaze is now under control.

media caption A fire at a tyre recycling yard in Renfrew sent a huge plume of black smoke into the sky visible from much of Glasgow

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: "Inquiries are continuing, however we are treating it as wilful at this time."

Incident commander William MacDonald, group manager at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said the operation to fully extinguish the blaze was ongoing.

"Crews working through the night successfully brought the fire under control but this is a protracted incident," he said.

"Firefighting operations are continuing and will likely be ongoing for some time.

"We currently have two high-volume pumps and four standard appliances in attendance. All relief crews are now in place with about 30 firefighters still on scene."

image copyright Tom Brogan

image caption The blaze was reported at about 22:00 on Thursday after a huge plume of smoke could be seen to the west of Glasgow

About 75 firefighters spent the night tackling the blaze. This figure was scaled back to 55 and later 30 firefighters.

At its height, a total of 15 fire appliances and three specialist vehicles were involved in the operation.

A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: "Fire crews quickly attended the scene and were faced with a severe fire within an industrial recycling establishment.

"Due to the size and nature of the blaze, the incident commander requested the attendance of additional resources."

media caption A resident in Clydebank filmed the rising smoke on their mobile phone

Although the immediate area is mainly home to industrial units, the fire service advised residents in the area to keep their windows closed due to the large plume of smoke.

Police were also at the scene to keep onlookers away and put road closures in place.

As the huge plumes filled the skyline over Renfrewshire, to the west of Glasgow, people from areas around the city took photos and video of the fire.

image caption The plume of smoke did not interfere with planes landing at nearby Glasgow Airport

image copyright Jamie Byrne image caption The fire could be seen clearly from the windows of planes taking off and landing from Glasgow Airport

image copyright tom redsell image caption Pictures taken from planes showed the plume of smoke spreading across Renfrewshire and Glasgow

image copyright callum, drumchapel image caption The smoke was clearly visible from the Drumchapel area in the west of Glasgow, north of the River Clyde

image copyright Buttbhoy image caption People in the city centre, near the M8 motorway, also sent in photographs of the smoke cloud

image copyright Peter J image caption Photographs taken on the ground showed the intensity of the blaze

image copyright Graham Auld image caption As emergency crews arrived, people began to gather near the scene

image copyright Graham auld image caption Tyres are believed to have caught fire, sending thick black smoke high into the evening sky