Fears were mounting last night that the Glasgow School of Art will be beyond repair after a devastating fire ripped through the Mackintosh building for a second time in four years.
Initial inspections suggested that the grade A-listed art school, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and completed in 1909, has been gutted and its roof and upper floors almost entirely destroyed by the blaze that took hold on Friday night. Alan Dunlop, the school’s professor of architecture, said: “I can’t see any restoration possible for the building itself. It looks totally destroyed.”
Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said her government would “do anything we reasonably can” to ensure the building’s future, but added: “Obviously all of us hope the building can be saved but I think it’s too early to draw conclusions.” After touring the scene, Sturgeon confirmed that the latest blaze had done far more damage to the building than that of 2014.
“It is just a shell,” she said. “It has clearly been a fire of much greater intensity than the one that took hold four years ago.”
Iain Bushell, a deputy chief officer with the Scottish fire and rescue service, said: “The roof is gone completely. We cannot get in yet to assess the damage. I can only see from the street but it looks as if the building has been extensively damaged.”
An investigation has begun into the fire’s cause but forensic crews have not been able to access the building.
Worldwide shock and disbelief greeted the news of the fire, which began at about 11.20pm on Friday and grew quickly in intensity, spreading to the neighbouring Campus nightclub and the O2 ABC music venue, which also suffered extensive damage.
More than 120 firefighters were called to tackle the blaze, and a water pump from the River Clyde was used to douse the flames.
The 2014 fire, begun when gases from a foam canister used in a student project were ignited accidentally, caused significant damage and restoration work was still underway. But Friday night’s fire was more intense, with nearby residents saying the heat could be felt several streets away. Chunks of blazing debris rained down on neighbouring streets. Police evacuated 27 people but there were no reported casualties.
Dunlop said that he was “devastated” by what he had seen of the damage. “The building does look as though it has been gutted. All that seems to remain is the stone walls.”
Further damage to the stonework will raise questions about the structural viability of the building. Following the last fire, some of the stone cracked and was too weak to reuse.
Stuart Robertson, director of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, said: “It’s just such a devastation for all the people working on the project and the whole Mackintosh community. You can see that from the reaction on social media, it’s ricocheted round the world.”
Alison Thewliss, SNP MP for Glasgow Central, echoed so many in describing the events of the night as “heartbreaking” in a building the city holds “very dear”.