GettyA huge blaze has ravaged the world-renowned Glasgow School of Art, four years after the same building was ravaged by fire.
Flames tore through the Mackintosh building after it caught fire at around 23.20 BST on Friday.
The blaze spread through nearby buildings including the Campus nightclub and O2 ABC music venue – the Mackintosh had been going restoration work since the fire of May 2014, The Mirror reports.
More than 120 firefighters and 15 engines have been sent to the scene to tackle the fire, fortunately no casualties have been reported, by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
Deputy Chief Officer Iain Bushell said:
This is an extremely challenging and complex incident, but the response and professionalism of our firefighters has been exceptional.
The fire has taken hold several properties including the O2 ABC nightclub causing extensive damage.
This will be a prolonged incident and crews will remain on the scene as they work to prevent further fire spread and damage.
Glasgow School of Art is on fire again. Heartbreaking. My thoughts go to all students and staff, and I hope no one was caught in the blaze. pic.twitter.com/TOZTkiLjMa
— Aidan Dick (@aidanrdick) June 15, 2018
Aidan Dick said the fire grew ‘in the space of a few minutes’.
A report found the 2014 blaze started when gas from a can of expanding foam came into contact with with the surface of a hot projector.
Latest reports from the BBC suggest pockets of fire remain but are under control.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service deputy assistant Peter Heath said the School of Art building had been ‘extensively damaged’ and all floors were affected.
He added:
We remain firefighting in what is a very challenging situation.
GettyAn eyewitness, Ben, told the BBC the latest fire looked ‘much worse’ than the 2014 one:
This is a blaze, the building is just going up like a tinderbox. It’s quite shocking.
— blair (@bl4irrr) June 16, 2018
Devastated that a major fire has broken out at the Glasgow School of Art tonight. The Mack has been undergoing restoration since the last devastating fire in 2014. @scotfire_glasgo are doing everything they can to salvage the most architecturally important building in Glasgow.
— Paul Sweeney MP (@PaulJSweeney) June 15, 2018
The Glasgow North East MP Paul Sweeney took to Twitter to share his shock at the fire which was undergoing restoration.
The Labour politician said the work had suffered a ‘horrific setback’ which he hoped would be overcome, adding the local services were ‘doing everything they can to salvage the most architecturally important building in Glasgow’.
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Tim Horner is a sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated with a BA Journalism from University College Falmouth before most his colleagues were born. A previous editor of adult mags, he now enjoys bringing the tone down in the viral news sector.