Glasgow School of Art fire: It could be six months until cause is known

Experts say the iconic A-listed building could cost more than £100m to rebuild, even if is saved from demolition.

Fire fighters were still dampening flames in the destroyed building last night, with Chief Fire Officer Alasdair Hay, of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, describing it as one of the most significant and "heartbreaking" fires he had seen in his career.

It is understood the blaze, the second devastating fire in four years at the world-famous building, began in its east wing.

By the time the first fire fighters arrived on the scene only four minutes later on Friday night, it was already "well established."

Mr Hay acknowledged that the public are urgently seeking answers over the causes of the fire, but refused to speculate on its cause or rapid acceleration.

Last night Muriel Gray, the chair of the board of Glasgow School of Art, said it "an understatement to say everyone is utterly devastated but as usual the GSA Executive Team, staff and students, have been outstanding, positive and supportive.

"We now have a difficult waiting game until Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Glasgow City Council and associated agencies have completed their investigations into the condition of the building.

"We remain hopeful of as positive an outcome as possible because it is clear that the love for the Mackintosh and recognition of its importance to Glasgow and the wider world is shared by absolutely everyone."

With speculation rising, some wildly, over the cause of the fire, some experts have expressed anger over the blaze.

Roger Billcliffe, the leading Mackintosh expert, said answers were needed, but "don’t hold your breath, we’re still waiting for answers about the 2014 fire.

"It’s well known that buildings such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s art school are most at risk during building work - look at Hampton Court and Windsor Castle, both extensively damaged, rebuilt and restored. So what precautions were taken at Renfrew Street? Any? None?"

He added: "The restoration of the school seems to have been remarkably successful but it was £35m of unneeded expenditure.

"Now it is tragically wasted.

"We don’t know the cause of this latest fire but don’t be surprised if it turns out to be linked to the 2014 fire, through exposure of the building to implicitly dangerous rebuilding operations."

The future of the gutted building appears to be in the balance, with one expert, Billy Hare, a Professor in Construction Management, saying that a "consensus is beginning to grow" that demolition may be necessary.

However, calls for a swift public inquiry into the calamitous fire, more devastating in breadth and reach than the 2014 blaze, have been rejected as premature by politicians.

The historic building was in the process of a £35m renovation from its last fire, and was in the day-to-day control of Kier Construction Scotland.

Kier’s contract, the restoration of the Mackintosh building’s roof before restoring the west wing and upgrading the east wing interior of the school, was scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

Kier refused to comment on whether fire sprinklers were in operation, although reports suggested they had not yet been fully installed.

A spokeswoman said: "Kier has been working with the Glasgow School of Art since 2016 on the restoration of the Mackintosh building and so we share the devastation felt by the School and the wider public at this time.

"We are working closely with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in their investigation and as such it would be inappropriate to comment further whilst an investigation is ongoing."

Both Scottish Secretary David Mundell and Scotland's Culture Secretary, Fiona Hyslop, said the fire service investigations into the cause of the blaze should be allowed to progress before any other decision is taken.

After the 2014 fire, caused by flammable gases from expanding foam being ignited by a hot projector in a degree show, an official report took six months to be issued.

Around 50 firefighters are still at the scene of the blaze, which broke out on Friday night, engulfing the Charles Rennie Mackintosh masterpiece and spreading to nearby buildings including the popular music venue the O2 ABC.

Ms Hyslop said: "I can understand people want lots of their questions answered but clearly we've got to have the process in place first, we have to have the fire investigation first and I think we should give people the time to carry out those very responsible duties to best effect and that will give us clarity of what is possible going forward.

"The sensible thing to do is to find out what the source of the fire was and how that spread in the initial stages.

"All these questions will be addressed by the fire investigation."

Mr Hay said that the fire service had done all it could to protect the integrity of the building.

He said: "Clearly this is an iconic building, but our fire fighters have been heroic, and done everything they can, to protect and save this building and we are working very hard with colleagues to make sure we do save the structural integrity of the building.

"This building is still in the operational phase, but structural engineers have been on site, we have been working closely with them, and will do in the coming days and we will take their advice at all stages."

He said that in the initial stages of the fire, fire fighters had entered the building but the decision was taken quickly to withdraw and tackle it externally.

Mr Hay said "there was no one in the building by the time we arrived."

He added: "Our fire investigation team were there on the night, they will work very closely with out colleagues, particularly within Police Scotland, to establish the full facts and the full circumstances and over the coming days and common weeks we will all be in a better position to give a full comment on that."

Billy Hare, a Professor in Construction Management, said: “It is sadly questionable what, if anything, will be left that could be salvaged, restored or recreated after this fire.

"It remains to be seen if it will be possible to retain a facade from the current building."