Report: Glasgow School of Art fire

Summary

Glasgow's world-renowned School of Art is gutted by a huge blaze
It comes four years after part of the building was destroyed by fire
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has described the fire as "heartbreaking"
No-one was reported injured
Nearby buildings, including the Campus nightclub and O2 ABC music venue, were also badly damaged
Firefighters are expected to be at the scene for days

Live Reporting

Steven Brocklehurst, Laura Pettigrew and Nichola Rutherford

Billy Connolly visits the scene of the firepublished at 11:59 British Summer Time 16 June 2018
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'Surreal, awful twist of fate'published at 11:55
Image caption,
Lachlan Goudie presented a documentary to mark Mackintosh's 150th anniversary. Here he is with a famous Mackintosh high-backed chair.
Scottish artist and Mackintosh expert Lachlan Goudie said he was "devastated" by the fire.
Goudie, who recently presented a TV documentary to mark Charles Rennie Mackintosh's 150th anniversary, said scaffolding had still surrounded the art school building from the fire in 2014.
He said: "I was on the scaffolding just a few weeks ago for the documentary and it was kind of traumatic to be standing there, surrounding the ruins of the once-burnt school.
"But there was a sense of optimism."
Goudie said: "I was looking at the fixtures, the windows, the way that everything seemed to have been cleaned and brought back to life with care and sensitivity.
"For this to happen just feels like one of those terrible, awful, surreal twists of fate that happen to other people."
Goudie said "The Mac" was his great masterpiece and is deservedly internationally-recognised as a triumph of British architecture.
He said for this to happen again is "frankly gutting".
Postpublished at 11:50 British Summer Time 16 June 2018
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Avoid the area - fire chief urgespublished at 11:48
Fifty firefighters are still working on the blaze, which broke out at about 23:20 Friday and spread to the nearby O2 ABC.
The fire is causing disruption in nearby streets including;
- Dalhousie Street
- Sauchiehall Street
- and Renfrew Street
The public has been advised to avoid these areas "at this present time".
Image source, PA
Quote Message
The fire has now largely been contained, but this remains a protracted incident and our efforts very much continue at this stage to extinguish the fire and ensure the community is protected."
David Young, Scottish Fire Service
Salvation Army assisting emergency services at fire scenepublished at 11:40
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How the world came to love Glasgow School of Artpublished at 11:33 British Summer Time 16 June 2018
Image source, Glasgow School of Art
Image caption,
The west facade looked like a Japanese Shogun's palace with slim oriel windows
When Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art building was first unveiled in 1899, the half-finished building was deeply unpopular.
The art school's maverick director, Fra Newberry, had chosen 31-year-old Charles Rennie Mackintosh as the architect, despite him not being a partner in his firm and having only designed a couple of previous buildings.
Newberry wanted to bring some of the young artist's style into his new art school building but the original budget only covered half of the plans and it was opened half-finished.
It was deeply unpopular, seeming to lack symmetry or logic.
Mackintosh was not invited to the opening ceremony.
READ MORE: How the world came to love Glasgow School of Art
Water pumped from River Clyde to fight School of Art firepublished at 11:32
Earlier, firefighters used a high-volume water pump from the River Clyde to tackle the blaze at the Glasgow School of Art.
The operation led to a number of road closures in the city centre.
ABC venue badly damagedpublished at 11:30 British Summer Time 16 June 2018
Image source, Police Scotland
Image caption,
The ABC's domed roof has collapsed as the fire spread
The ABC on Sauchiehall Street backs on to the school of art. Its domed roof appears to have completely collapsed as the fire spread from the art school building.
The ABC has been a place of entertainment in various guises for almost 150 years.
The site was home to museum, an ice skating rink, a circus and a dance hall before it became a cinema in the 1920s.
The building was largely reconstructed to become ABC's flagship Glasgow cinema in 1929.
It was a huge one-screen cinema, seating 2,400 people.
In 1967, it was extended to include a second screen and a decade later it was awkwardly divided into four screening rooms.
However, the rise of the muliplexes in the 1980s led to the demise of the ABC cinema in 1999.
In 2009 it emerged as a music venue and nightclub.
'It's tragic to have another fire here'published at 11:18
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The morning afterpublished at 11:16
Graham Fraser, BBC news website
Parts of Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street look normal for a Saturday morning. The rain falls heavily on top of chip boxes, the remnants providing breakfast for many a hungry bird.
Image source, PA
But the presence of fire engines, police officers, bewildered passers-by and an acrid smell of smoke in the air indicate this is far from normal.
Smoke still billows from the Glasgow School of Art, the Campus nightclub and the O2 ABC venue, with all the streets around the area closed.
Once again, the people of Glasgow are watching on as one of its most famous buildings is on fire.
Once again, the words "so sad" are heard on every corner.
Firefighters still pumping water at scenepublished at 11:11
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'It's devastating, it's heartbreaking"published at 11:04
People in Glasgow react as they see flames and plumes of smoke engulf the world-renowned Mackintosh building in the city centre.
Media caption,
Fire engulfs Glasgow's Mackintosh building
In Pictures: Glasgow School of Art engulfed by flamespublished at 10:57
See pictures from the scene as flames ripped through the iconic building, destroying a multi-million restoration project.
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
Fire crews were called to the famous Glasgow School of Art late on Friday evening
Image source, Get
Image caption,
More than 120 firefighters were at the scene
Fire devastates art school - four years on from similar blazepublished at 10:45 British Summer Time 16 June 2018
Image source, Police Scotland
Glasgow's world-renowned School of Art has been gutted by another huge blaze, four years after part of the building was destroyed by fire.
Flames ripped through the celebrated Mackintosh building after it caught fire at about 23:20 on Friday.
The blaze spread to nearby buildings, including the Campus nightclub and O2 ABC music venue, which suffered "extensive damage".
There are not thought to have been any injuries.