We're with fire crews on busiest day of the year

THESE were the dramatic scenes of devastation after a blazing fireworks rocket flew through the open window of a flat on the 15th floor of a TOWER block.

The News of the World was WITH firefighters as they raced to the nightmare 999 call.

And we spoke to stunned householder Hugh McCarroll just moments after he had been pulled from his blazing home.

The shaken dispatch manager, 36, told us: "I could see flames through the smoke. I was bloody SCARED. Who wouldn't be?"

The dramatic incident was one of 612 dealt with by Strathclyde Fire and Rescue on Bonfire Night, when they handle four times their normal call-out rate.

We joined Green Watch from Glasgow's Cowcaddens fire station for their most harrowing and gruelling shift of the year.

Watch Commanders Steve Cairns, 48, and Allan Hall, 45, sent us out with their special operations teams in radio cars.

Their job is to judge how bad an incident is and send the info back to the fire control room in Johnstone, Renfrewshire. Steve said: "We take the pressure off our crews by sorting through 999 calls so appliances are diverted to real emergencies."

At 8.30pm reports came in of a blaze in Whiteinch, Glasgow.

With blue lights on and sirens blaring, we arrived at the scene to find terrified Hugh being given medical treatment in a neighbour's flat.

He gasped: "I was watching TV when somebody chapped the door. The next minute my smoke alarm went off.

"I opened the bedroom door to see the right side of the room on fire. Smoke was everywhere. I ran into the kitchen, got a kettle and started to douse the flames. But the smoke was too thick.

"It was going everywhere. I had foam in the room from a mate's new sofa and that made it even worse. It came as a total surprise. Who'd have thought a firework could come in your window."

Fortunately for Hugh, firefighters with breathing apparatus came to the rescue.

Local residents revealed some girls had been setting off rockets 120ft below and one had veered into Hugh's open window.

But the tower block blaze was just one incident on a hectic shift for Green Watch. Even with 30 years' experience, Commander Cairns admitted Guy Fawkes Night is a test.

He said: "At times there is so much radio traffic that people start to talk over each other. But we have the training to remain focused and pass on the relevant info with speed and accuracy."

Incredibly, the fire heroes also have to cope with ATTACKS from neds. In Port Glasgow and Greenock, appliances were pelted with bricks and bottles.

And mindless thugs aimed FIREWORKS at a crew as they tried to tackle a house fire in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire.

Steve said: "Youths have been known to lure appliances into dead end streets - then attack the crews. We have to assess the risks for every emergency call." Our next stop was Castlemilk in Glasgow, where vandals had torched an abandoned school.

Firefighters discovered FOUR separate blazes at the building. Watch Commander Alan McGregor said: "There is no doubt these were started deliberately."

Then we headed for Rutherglen - and the night's biggest inferno. It had started in a Chinese restaurant but spread to a bookies, takeaway and hairdresser's.

Group Commander Tony Waters took control of the incident. His crews were later praised by colleague David Proctor, who said: "The fire could have spread rapidly. But they quickly had it under control. A job well done."

Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue crews were called to 429 incidents on Thursday - nearly three times their daily average.

Tayside Fire and Rescue dealt with 65 blazes related to Guy Fawkes Night. And Fife crews had between 60 and 70 call-outs.

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