Historic Glasgow building fire contained

A blaze that ripped through Glasgow's renowned School of Art has been largely contained after causing "extensive" damage to the historic building.

Aerial photograph of damaged Mackintosh Building in Glasgow

Scotland's historic Mackintosh Building in Glasgow has been badly damaged by fire. (AAP)

A blaze that ripped through Glasgow's renowned School of Art has been largely contained after causing "extensive" damage to the historic building, the fire service says.

Around 50 firefighters are still working to extinguish the fire, which broke out at around late on Friday night and spread to the nearby O2 ABC.

It is just four years since the Charles Rennie Mackintosh building was badly damaged in another blaze.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said the building had been "extensively damaged" including multimillion-pound restoration work carried out in the aftermath of the previous fire. No one has been reported injured.

"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," SFRS area manager David Young said.

"There will be disruption around Dalhousie Street, Sauchiehall Street and Renfrew Street and I would advise the public to avoid these areas at this present time.

"I would like to thank our firefighters on the ground and our operations control firefighters for working effectively with our partners throughout the night and into today."

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "This is a very sad morning in the city of Glasgow. Glasgow School of Art is an institution that is loved not just by its students, staff and the people of this city, but by many around the world.

"First and foremost my thoughts are for the safety of people. At this stage it appears there are no casualties and I hope that continues to be the case.

"The professionalism and bravery of the fire service, and the rest of the emergency services, was once again demonstrated last night. This is clearly an extremely complex and large-scale incident, and one that is ongoing. I would like to thank the emergency services for their continued efforts."

Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish Government was ready to provide "any support that may be required, now and in the period ahead".

A restoration project, which was set to cost between STG20 million and STG35 million ($A35.6 million and $A62.3 million), had been returning the famous art school to its former glory after a devastating fire in 2014, with Brad Pitt and Peter Capaldi among those lending their support.

Stuart Robertson, director of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, said the fire was "terrible" and a "massive body blow" and would be "sending shock waves around the world".

He said: "This is a world class building. With all the restoration work going on it's just horrendous, I can't really believe it.

"To see some of the work and the beautiful craftsmanship that's gone on and I'd seen a glimpse of the new library taking shape and the studio work and all the painstaking work that's gone into the restoration is just... people must feel sick."


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Source: AAP



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