A GREENOCK businessman has told how he feared the building that houses his corner shop was set to collapse as fire ripped through it yesterday morning.

The Costcutter store on the corner of Roxburgh Street and Mount Pleasant Street, was destroyed in the 8am blaze after a fridge burst into flames.

Owner Bal Singh says the bill to repair the damage will 'run into thousands of pounds' - but vowed to bounce back and reopen the popular convenience store.

Mr Singh, pictured, said: "The back of one of the fridges caught fire and all of a sudden there were flames and smoke.

"The fire started to spread and very quickly it was reaching the ceiling.

"It's a shock and we've never had to deal with anything like this, so we're just working out where staff in the store are going to go while we are closed.

"It is upsetting but we're just glad nobody was hurt. One of the locals said the firemen thought the building could come down at one point, but the fire was contained thankfully.

"There is a lot of damage, both to the inside of the shop and to the stock, but we will just need to deal with that. We will get it sorted and open again as soon as we can. A lot of people around here rely on us for their groceries and I'm determined to make sure we return as soon as possible and keep serving the community."

Residents who live in the flat above were evacuated and stood in the street watching as firefighters battled the blaze.

One local, who lives directly above the shop told the Tele, how choking fumes began to billow into her home.

She said: "It was frightening.

"The smoke was coming through the floorboards. At one point the fire crews said they actually thought the building was going to come down.

"Thankfully that didn't happen, but my home has suffered a lot of damage. My entire bathroom is black with the smoke."

Another resident, who did not want to be named, added: "I was woken by the sound of the fire engines and realised it was our building. When I looked out the window all I could see was thick black smoke.

"Luckily the flats are okay, although I think we'll be trying to get rid of the burning smell for weeks."

Three appliances rushed to the scene and police closed the road off for several hours as crews tackled the blaze.

Workmen were onsite yesterday around lunchtime to begin clearing the charred remains left on the pavement outside the shop.

A customer, who was in the shop when the fire started, said: "I had gone into the shop to get noodles and Bal and I saw the fire start.

"Thankfully we all got out just in time.

"It was pretty frightening."

Fire crews spent a number of hours securing the site and left shortly before 11am.

Neighbouring businesses Clyde Pharmacy and Binnie Butcher were able to reopen once the scene was made safe.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "We were alerted at 8.05am to reports of a fire within a commercial property on Roxburgh Street in Greenock.

"Operation control mobilised three appliances to the scene where there was a fire in the ground floor of a tenement building.

"Residents from flats above the property were evacuated.

"Firefighters extinguished the blaze and there are no reported casualties."