After the Fire

I was at the Art School on Monday, where there are still firemen and police.  Apparently there are still heat spots in amongst the timbers, so the building isn't safe, although some charred artefacts were being carried out and taken down the hill to the McLellan Galleries.   

 

 There is still a very strong smell of burnt wood, like a bonfire.  

 

A crowd of people are standing around, looking concerned, watching some men dangling in a small cage on an inspection crane.  

It's like anxious relatives gathered round the bed of a very sick relative, waiting for news.

Apparently so much was saved (90% of the building structure and 70% of the contents) because the firemen had practiced for years with models of the Grade 1 listed, sprinkler-free building.  So they knew exactly where to fight the fire, and set up a human shield with hoses to form a fire-break to stop the blaze spreading into other parts of the building.  Hence you can see the clear delineation here.  

When you saw how fierce the fire was, and how it was jumping through the building up stairwells and along timbers, that was incredibly brave stuff.

 

The library is all gone.

 

The Hen Run is all gone too - this is the view from Sauchiehall Street.