Firefighters battle blaze at site beside Mackintosh school
FIREFIGHTERS last night battled a huge blaze at an empty warehouse next door to one of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s best-known buildings.
Flames could be seen shooting through a roof at the rear of the former Howden’s engineering works in Glasgow, which has been vacant for more than 30 years.
The warehouse walls are only a few feet away from the Mackintosh-designed Scotland Street School Museum, near Shields Road.
Four appliances were sent to the scene as the blaze took hold.
Photos and video clips posted online showed smoke and flames bursting from the top of the building as crews fought to control the fire.
It is thought to have started at some point between 7.30pm and 8.15pm last night.
Before dusk fell, plumes of black
‘There are no reported casualties’
smoke could be seen billowing across the city and the M8 motorway, visible for miles around.
It was not clear how the fire started.
A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said last night: ‘Operations Control mobilised three fire appliances and an aerial appliance to Scotland Street and firefighters extinguished the flames.
‘There are no reported casualties.’
Mackintosh designed the school between 1903-1906 for the School Board of Glasgow, with his unmistakeable style evident in the stonework and staircases.
When it opened on August 15, 1906, it educated the children of families working mainly in shipbuilding and engineering on the south side of Glasgow.
Glasgow School of Art, which was also designed by Mackintosh, was devastated by a fire in 2014 and was destroyed by a second fire in June last year.
The second, more destructive blaze happened during work to repair the damage of the first.
Meanwhile, crews were called to a fire at Woodmill High School in Dunfermline around 5pm last night. A Fife Council spokesman said: ‘Staff are on site but a decision has been taken to close the school to all pupils until the damage can be fully assessed.’