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Glasgow art school blaze: Fire crews spend second day at the scene

17 июня
09:55 2018
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Media captionAerial footage shows scale of the Glasgow School of Art fire

Fire crews are spending a second day working to extinguish the blaze which has devastated Glasgow's School of Art.

Fire chiefs said the fire - which also badly damaged the nearby O2 ABC music venue - had largely been contained.

However, a few pockets of fire remained and crews stayed at the scene overnight. The fire service said it was too early to speculate on the cause.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the damage as "heartbreaking".

Image copyright PA
Image caption The art school building has been devastated by the fire

Friday night's blaze is the second to hit the Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed building in four years.

Forensic experts will not gain access to the building until it has been made safe.

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No-one is thought to have been injured by the fire, which was reported at about 23:20 on Friday.

At the height of the blaze, a total of 120 firefighters and 20 fire engines were at the scene and nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution. Hoses brought water from the River Clyde to help fight the flames.

On Saturday night 50 firefighters, nine fire engines and four high reach appliances remained at the scene.

Interactive Before and after: Glasgow School of Art from the air

After the fire on 16 June 2018

Aerial view of Glasgow School of Art and surrounding buildings after the fire on 15/16 June 2018

Before the fire - Google Earth 2018

Aerial view of Glasgow School of Art and surrounding buildings before the fire - Google Earth 2018

Image caption As it was: the art school building was under reconstruction from the first fire in 2014
Image caption After the fire: the art school and a neighbouring building have been devastated,

Group Manager Mark Gallacher, the officer in charge of the incident, said the fire service would remain at the scene "for as long as it takes".

He said: "We are absolutely committed to preventing any further damage to surrounding properties and ensuring the area is made safe."

Miles Glendinning, a professor of architectural conservation, told BBC Radio Scotland he was hopeful the art school could be restored as it still exists in digital form.

"I think it should be restored and it will be restored," he said.

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Speaking to Good Morning Scotland, he said "remarkable" records had been made of the building as part of the restoration project following the 2014 fire.

"A Glasgow School of Art project team [made] a digital recording reconstruction of the whole building, not just the bit that was affected before, down to the nearest millimetre, outside and in, using photos and measured drawings," he said.

Image copyright Getty Images

"So the building still exists digitally even if the inside is for the moment physically absent. This is a world first for Scotland."

He said he would be "very surprised" if the building had to be knocked down and rebuilt, saying the walls could instead be reinforced.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited the site on Saturday.

She said: "The fire has been a devastating blaze, much worse than the one that took hold of the Mackintosh building four years ago.

"The damage is severe and extensive. My heart goes out to everybody associated with the art school."

Image copyright Rocco Giudice
Image caption The fire could be seen throughout Glasgow city centre

Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish government stood "ready to provide any support" in the wake of the blaze.

Prime Minister Teresa May said the UK government would support the Scottish government in restoration efforts.

The A-listed building, considered to be Charles Rennie Mackintosh's masterpiece, was badly damaged in a blaze in May 2014.

Image copyright EPA
Image caption The fire ripped through the newly-restored building on Friday night
Image copyright Getty Images

That blaze, which was caused by a faulty projector, destroyed the building's library, recognised as one of the world's finest examples of art nouveau.

It had been due to reopen next year after being restored in a project estimated to cost up to £35m.

There was shock and disbelief that the building had been hit by another major blaze, with local people and former students among those to express sadness.

Glasgow School of Art said its immediate focus was on its students after the "devastating" fire.

Image copyright Getty Images
Image copyright Getty Images
Image copyright Getty Images
Image copyright EPA
Image caption At the height of the fire, hoses ran down to the River Clyde which provided a key source of water

The Mackintosh building was completed in 1909 based on designs by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scotland's most-lauded designer.

Glasgow School of Art has produced a number of leading contemporary artists, including Douglas Gordon, Alison Watt, David Shrigley, and recent Turner Prize winners Simon Starling, Richard Wright and Martin Boyce.

Image copyright PA

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