Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Saturday, June 16, 2018

BREAKING: Glasgow fire: Art school's Mackintosh building extensively damaged


Media captionFire engulfs Glasgow School of Art.
by Selina O'Grady and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Glasgow
Glasgow's world-renowned School of Art has been gutted by another huge blaze, four years after part of the building was destroyed by fire.
Flames ripped through the celebrated Mackintosh building after it caught fire at about 23:20 on Friday.
The blaze spread to nearby buildings, including the Campus nightclub and O2 ABC music venue, which suffered "extensive damage".
The renovated Mackintosh library had been due to reopen next year.
It was destroyed in the blaze that ripped through the building in May 2014. It was being restored in a project estimated to cost between £20m and £35m.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said about 50 firefighters were still tackling Friday's blaze with nine fire engines and four-high reach appliances at the scene.
A spokesman said the fire, which has caused "extensive damage", had now been largely contained, however, a few pockets of fire remained.
Burnt-out art school buildingImage copyrightPA
Image captionThe art school building has been devastated by the fire
Aerial shot of the sceneImage copyrightPOLICE SCOTLAND
Fire crews are concentrating efforts on all four sides of the buildings, from Dalhousie Street to Sauchiehall Street and into Renfrew Street.
Nearby homes have been evacuated as a precaution. There are not thought to have been any injuries.
At its height, a total of 120 firefighters and 20 fire engines were at the scene.
Map of Glasgow School of Art
SFRS area manager David Young said: "The fire has now largely been contained but this remains a protracted incident and our efforts very much continue at this stage to extinguish the fire and ensure the community is protected.
"There will be disruption around Dalhousie Street, Sauchiehall Street and Renfrew Street and I would advise the public to avoid these areas at this present time.
Firefighters sent to the scene had been faced with "an extremely challenging and complex incident", Deputy Chief Officer Iain Bushell said earlier. All floors of the building were affected.
Fire at Mackintosh buildingImage copyrightPA
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Firefighters used water from the River Clyde to tackle the blaze, resulting in a number of road closures in the area.
Insp Catherine McNally, of Police Scotland, praised the response of both the public and nearby licensed premises which were asked to evacuate.
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The morning after

Graham Fraser, BBC news website

Firefighter at the sceneImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Parts of Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street look normal for a Saturday morning. The rain falls heavily on top of chip boxes, the remnants providing breakfast for many a hungry bird.
But the presence of fire engines, police officers, bewildered passers-by and an acrid smell of smoke in the air indicate this is far from normal.
Smoke still billows from the Glasgow School of Art, the Campus nightclub and the O2 ABC venue, with all the streets around the area closed.
Once again, the people of Glasgow are watching on as one of its most famous buildings is on fire.
Once again, the words "so sad" are heard on every corner.
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Ben, an eyewitness, told us at the BBC that the latest fire looked "much worse" than the previous one.
"This is a blaze, the building is just going up like a tinderbox. It's quite shocking," he said.
Media captionGlasgow School of Art 'extensively damaged'
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At the scene

Aileen Clarke, BBC Scotland
Water is still being pumped onto Glasgow School of art this morning, though firefighters now say they have contained the blaze which has so extensively ravaged the Mackintosh building there may still be pockets of fire flaring up.
The operation on the ABC building next door they still describe as active firefighting, the fire spread to the roof of that building though it's smoke more than flames visible from the street, now.
Deputy assistant chief fire officer Peter Heath says there is damage to every part of the Mackintosh building, and the fire had such a grip of the building when they arrived here just after 23:15 last night, that they don't know where it started let alone how.
Initial impressions are that it seems unlikely that any of the restoration work carried out since fire ripped through the building four years ago, will have survived this latest blaze.
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Connor Neil, 22, said people were being evacuated from their homes and there was a "big orange light" which could be seen from streets away.
Fire fighters battle a blaze at the Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art for the second time in four yearsImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionThe building was undergoing restoration works after the previous fire in 2014
One Twitter user posted a video of the O2's roof appearing to collapse as firefighters sprayed water onto the building from an aerial platform.
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Crowds look on as firefighters tackle the blazeImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionLarge crowds gathered and looked on as firefighters tackled the blaze
Fire in art schoolImage copyrightEPA
Image captionThe fire ripped through the newly-restored building on Friday night
A photo of the fireImage copyrightROCCO GIUDICE
Image captionThe fire could be seen throughout Glasgow city centre
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Glasgow North East MP Paul Sweeney described the building, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, as "the most architecturally important building in Glasgow".
The Labour politician said the restoration effort had suffered a "horrific setback" which he hoped would be overcome.
"We cannot lose this building," he added.
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Mr Sweeney went on to say: "The 1909 library extension, that was the origin of the 2014 blaze, is now fully alight too.
"It looks like the entire interior space is now fully alight.
"The best we can probably hope for is structural facade retention and a complete rebuild of the interior. Devastating."
Firefighters continue to battle the fire as dawn breaks over GlasgowImage copyrightREUTERS
Image captionFirefighters remained at the scene on Saturday morning
Glasgow School of ArtImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish government stood "ready to provide any support" in the wake of the blaze.
She said the government's resilience room was activated as the fire developed overnight.
Paying tribute to the fire service and other emergency services, the first minister added: "This is a very sad morning in the city of Glasgow."
"This is clearly an extremely complex and large-scale incident, and one that is ongoing," she said.
"I would like to thank the emergency services for their continued efforts.
"The Scottish government stands ready to provide any support that may be required, now and in the period ahead."
Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell, who had visited the building only two weeks ago, said he was "devastated".
He said the government "stands ready to help, financially or otherwise".
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The Mackintosh building was completed in 1909 based on designs by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scotland's most-lauded designer.
It has been described as "a working art school as well as a work of art", and has an A-list rating from Historic Scotland.
In recent years, the school has produced many of the UK's leading contemporary artists such as Douglas Gordon, Alison Watt, David Shrigley, and three recent Turner Prize winners: Simon Starling in 2005, Richard Wright in 2009 and Martin Boyce in 2011.
Other former students include actors Robbie Coltrane and Peter Capaldi, and artist Peter Howson.
The fire in 2014, caused by a faulty projector, destroyed the building's library, which was recognised as being one of the finest examples of art nouveau in the world.
Undated handout photo of a full-size model of a section of the fire-gutted Mackintosh Library, which has been unveiled as work continues to restore the building to its original 1910 design.Image copyrightPA
Image captionThe original Mackintosh library (pictured before the fire) was considered one of the finest examples of art nouveau in the world
The ruined Mackintosh Library after the 2014 blazeImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionThe Mackintosh Library was destroyed in the 2014 blaze

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