Firework link to university blaze

Firefighters tackle the blaze

An investigation has begun into the cause of a fire at Glasgow University which caused an estimated £6m worth of damage.

The blaze broke out on Wednesday in the three-storey Bower building that houses botany laboratories and lecture rooms, destroying research and books.

Among the lines of inquiry, firefighters are looking into the possibility the blaze was started by a stray firework.

It took firefighters two hours to control the blaze

The safety of the building will be assessed but there is a fear it may collapse.

It took 12 fire engines more than two hours to bring the fire under control.

University Avenue, which was evacuated during the blaze, remains closed on Thursday as structural experts assess the damage.

A university spokesman said: "We should find out later today what experts believe should happen to the building, whether it can remain as a shell or need to be brought down."

The spokesman said a number of items destroyed in the blaze were "irreplaceable" and described them as a "sad loss to the university".

"The Gilmorehill Campus is operating normally except for the immediate vicinity of the Bower Building.

'Talks underway'

"Most teaching in the Faculty of Biomedical and Life Sciences scheduled for today is taking place and it is expected to be back to normal tomorrow.

"Talks are underway on the relocation of the faculty's undergraduate teaching unit and research groups which were housed in the Bower Building."

Scientific equipment used by the famous botanists Sir William Hooker and Frederick Bower, after whom the building was named, was lost.

Books by Charles Darwin and other important manuscripts valued at around £2m were also destroyed.

The building is used mainly as an administrative centre for teaching courses in life sciences and also houses two botany laboratories.

Students and lecturers who used the facility would be moved to another part of the campus, the university said.

A Strathclyde Fire Brigade spokesman said: "Taking into account the size of the building our investigation into this incident could take as long as a week."