AN architectural firm which advises the Glasgow School of Art has blamed contractors for failing to safeguard the historic building from a devastating blaze this year.
Page/Park said a tender won by the Kier Group in 2016 made it responsible for preparing a fire safety plan to protect personnel and the building in the event of a fire during restoration work.
The iconic building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh was hit by a devastating fire in June this year as reconstruction following an earlier blaze in 2014 neared completion.
The architects’ criticisms were made in a submission to a Holyrood inquiry considering the circumstances of the second blaze.
“We had carried forward lessons from the fire of 2014 to ensure that the restored building would be properly fire protected and we required the contractor to put in place appropriate fire protection measures during the construction process,” it said.
“It is a matter of deep and enduring regret that these measures were unsuccessful and, like the members of this committee and all others in Glasgow, Scotland and beyond who have an interest in this appalling event, we also need to understand precisely what happened and we await the outcome of the investigation by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.”
It added: “The Page\Park design team prepared tender documentation for the reconstruction works, including the previously agreed fire safety upgrades.
“The tender documentation placed a responsibility on the contractor to prepare a detailed fire safety plan to protect personnel and building fabric in the event of a fire during the construction works.”
According to reports after the blaze the Mackintosh Building’s fire suppression system was “weeks away from installation”. A briefing for the committee said at the time of this year’s fire the building was not part of the Glasgow School of Art’s (GSA) operational estate and was under Kier’s control. Work to dismantle the 19th century building began on July 10. The GSA later reported stabilisation work was underway on three sides of the building.
The committee will tomorrow hear from Brian McQuade, managing director of Kier, as well as David Page, director of Page\Park Architects, and David Paton, head of design review at the architect firm.
A Kier spokeswoman said: “An agreed fire safety strategy was implemented for the build phase of the Mackintosh restoration project, which combined measures for the protection of all those entering the site to work and to alert the authorities in the event of an outbreak of fire. These included a smoke and heat detection system and regular evacuation tests as well as 24-hour, 7 days a week security and fire warden patrols by a team of three guards, originally appointed by the client after the 2014 fire and subsequently by Kier.”
Muriel Gray, chair of the GSA board of governors, will face the committee next month.
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