‘Devastating’ blow for Glasgow as fire guts school of arts a second time

A fire has torn through one of Scotland’s architectural gems, the Mackintosh building at the Glasgow School of Art. It was the second major blaze there in four years.

More than 120 firefighters battled during the night as the blaze gutted the building, constructed in 1909, and spread to a theatre and a nearby nightclub. No casualties were reported.

“The extent of the damage is severe,” Peter Heath of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service yesterday said at the scene in Glasgow city centre.

Mr Heath said the fire burnt from the ground floor through to the roof.

By morning the blaze was under control, but smoke was still rising as firefighters sprayed it from tall ladders. Mr Heath said the theatre was still on fire and its roof had partly collapsed, but the blaze was no longer spreading.

Witness Aidan Dick said the fire and smoke grew in intensity “in the space of a few minutes”.

The Mackintosh building had been due to reopen next year after millions of pounds in restoration works on damage from a fire in May 2014.

“This is clearly an extremely serious situation,” Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, tweeted yesterday. “My first thoughts tonight are for the safety of people but my heart also breaks for Glasgow’s beloved GSofA.

“Once again, we are indebted to the bravery of our firefighters and other emergency services.”

The Mackintosh building is named after its architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scotland’s most influential designer. The School of Art’s website says the building “heralded the birth of a new style in 20th century European architecture”.

Mr Heath said fire crews were called about 20 minutes before midnight on Friday, and by the time they arrived fire had already spread throughout the building.

The area was quickly evacuated and cordoned off. It remained inaccessible to the public yesterday morning.

“This is a devastating loss for Glasgow, absolutely devastating,” Mr Heath said.

The fire in Glasgow’s city centre is the second to hit the landmark site in four years