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.
Efforts to bring the fires under control were expected to be “prolonged”, Deputy Chief Officer Iain Bushell said.
Image copyright Police Scotland
More than 120 firefighters were sent to the scene and were faced with “an extremely challenging and complex incident”, he added.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service deputy assistant Peter Heath said “pockets of fire” remained, but were under control.
He said the School of Art building had been “extensively damaged” and that all floors were affected.
“We remain firefighting in what is a very challenging situation,” he added.
Insp Catherine McNally, of Police Scotland, praised the response of both the public and nearby licensed premises which were asked to evacuate.
At the scene
Aileen Clarke, BBC Scotland
Water is still being pumped onto Glasgow School of art this morning, though firefighters now say they have contained the blaze which has so extensively ravaged the Mackintosh building there may still be pockets of fire flaring up.
The operation on the ABC building next door they still describe as active firefighting, the fire spread to the roof of that building though it’s smoke more than flames visible from the street, now.
Deputy assistant chief fire officer Peter Heath says there is damage to every part of the Mackintosh building, and the fire had such a grip of the building when they arrived here just after 23:15 last night, that they don’t know where it started let alone how.
Initial impressions are that it seems unlikely that any of the restoration work carried out since fire ripped through the building four years ago, will have survived this latest blaze.
The Mackintosh building was badly damaged by fire in May 2014 and was due to re-open next year following a £20 -35m restoration project.
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Ben, an eyewitness, told the BBC the latest fire looked “much worse” than the previous one.
“This is a blaze, the building is just going up like a tinderbox. It’s quite shocking,” he said.
Connor Neil, 22, said people were being evacuated from their homes and there was a “big orange light” which could be seen from streets away.
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One Twitter user posted a video of the O2’s roof appearing to collapse as firefighters sprayed water onto the building from an aerial platform.
Police Scotland said a high-volume water pump from the River Clyde had been put in place, resulting in closures on Broomielaw, Brown Street, Argyle Street, Douglas Street and Dalhousie Street.
Roads around Sauchiehall Street also remain closed.
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Image copyright Rocco Giudice
Glasgow North East MP Paul Sweeney described the building, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, as “the most architecturally important building in Glasgow”.
The Labour politician said the restoration effort had suffered a “horrific setback” which he hoped would be overcome.
“We cannot lose this building,” he added.
Mr Sweeney went on to say: “The 1909 library extension, that was the origin of the 2014 blaze, is now fully alight too.
“It looks like the entire interior space is now fully alight.
“The best we can probably hope for is structural facade retention and a complete rebuild of the interior. Devastating.”
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Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish government stood “ready to provide any support” in the wake of the blaze.
She said the government’s resilience room was activated as the fire developed overnight.
Paying tribute to the fire service and other emergency services, the first minister added: “This is a very sad morning in the city of Glasgow.”
“This is clearly an extremely complex and large-scale incident, and one that is ongoing,” she said.
“I would like to thank the emergency services for their continued efforts.
“The Scottish government stands ready to provide any support that may be required, now and in the period ahead.”
Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell, who had visited the building only two weeks ago, said he was “devastated”.
He said the government “stands ready to help, financially or otherwise”.
The Mackintosh building was completed in 1909 based on designs by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scotland’s most-lauded designer.
It has been described as “a working art school as well as a work of art”, and has an A-list rating from Historic Scotland.
In recent years, the school has produced many of the UK’s leading contemporary artists such as Douglas Gordon, Alison Watt, David Shrigley, and three recent Turner Prize winners: Simon Starling in 2005, Richard Wright in 2009 and Martin Boyce in 2011.
Other former students include actors Robbie Coltrane and Peter Capaldi, and artist Peter Howson.
The fire in 2014, caused by a faulty projector, destroyed the building’s library, which was recognised as being one of the finest examples of art nouveau in the world.
Image copyright PA
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