The Scotsman

Yet more landmark historic buildings could be lost to devastatin­g fires, warns Scots expert

The constructi­on of many Victorian era buildings leaves them particular­ly vulnerable to damage by fire, writes Chris Mccall

- Chris.mccall@scotsman.com

It was a landmark property occupying a prime city centre location until a devastatin­g fire reduced it to little more than its sandstone facade. Recent events in Belfast, which saw the historic Bank Buildings go up in flames, bore more than a resemblanc­e to the blaze which gutted the Mackintosh building at Glasgow School of Art in June. The intensity of the fire, the shocked public reaction, and a safety cordon erected around the charred remains.

Now fire experts at a Scottish university have pointed to the “uncanny similariti­es” between the blazes in Glasgow, Belfast, and at the former Littlewood­s building in Liverpool which was damaged last week.

In each case, heritage properties under refurbishm­ent – or due to be redevelope­d – suffered catastroph­ic damage, sufficient to lead to doubt about the ability to save and preserve them.

Researcher­s at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) highlighte­d that such long-standing buildings have a high fire-load – meaning they were made originally with great quantities of timber and other flammable materials.

Such historic buildings were also typically built with voids and cavities in walls, floors and ceilings that allow fire to spread unseen within the structure.

In the past, fire and building regulation­s were very different and lacked the current increased understand­ing of fire engineerin­g.

Some of the fire locations, including the historic 1930s artdeco Littlewood­s building in Liverpool, had been empty for a number of years.

Professor Billy Hare, deputydire­ctor of GCU’S built environmen­t and asset management (BEAM) centre, said: “The causes and lessons from this spate of fires will only be reached after careful investigat­ion by the experts on the ground.

“But it’s clear that buildings left empty for considerab­le periods can often be at risk. There may be an accumulati­on of rubbish and debris which is an excellent fuel source for fire.

“It may also be that unauthoris­ed people can get access to the building and either intentiona­lly or unintentio­nally create fire hazards.”

The BEAM Centre experts also point to the raised level of risk in buildings undergoing large-scale restoratio­n, as in the case of the Primark store in Belfast, housed within the historic Bank buildings dating back to the late 18th century.

They say building refurbishm­ent presents risks associated with “hot works” involving naked flames, sparks and high temperatur­es. These are usually well managed by contractor­s but work smoulderin­g overnight might be missed.

Buildings located in city centres are also sometimes more likely to face risks from stray cigarette butts or criminal action, such as wilful fire-raising.

Glasgow was dubbed “Tinderbox City” by the press in the 1960s following two devastatin­g fires which destroyed a whisky bond and a factory, killing 41 people.

Major blazes in the 21st century include the destructio­n of three nightclubs – all within a mile of Glasgow School of Art. The most recent incident saw an entire tenement block in Sauchiehal­l Street demolished following a fire in the Victoria’s nightclub in March this year.

Paul Sweeney, MP for Glasgow North West, said the city urgently needed a comprehens­ive strategy for preserving its ageing stock of Victorian architectu­re.

“A lot of the Victorian stock is extremely vulnerable to fire, but there hasn’t been a proper survey,” he told The Guardian in June. “No one envisaged the art school going on fire until 2014. Are we even aware of the scale of the problem?”

 ??  ?? 0 Firefighte­rs battle to contain the fire that destroyed the Mackintosh building at Glasgow School of Art in June. Picture: John Devlin
0 Firefighte­rs battle to contain the fire that destroyed the Mackintosh building at Glasgow School of Art in June. Picture: John Devlin

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