Glasgow School of Art was due fire safety upgrade

Firefighters tackle the blaze at the iconic Mackintosh building on Friday. Picture: Hemedia

The school, which was severely damaged by a fire that ripped through the building on Friday, said the fire suppression system would have improved the building’s fire safety measures. But the school admitted that it would have been impossible to know whether the upgrade would have made any difference.

The exterior of the building and many of its contents were preserved by firefighters - but the art school’s iconic Mackintosh library has been destroyed. Around 200 firefighters were dispatched to the scene when the fire broke out at around 12.30pm on Friday.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said the fire was “truly heartbreaking” and pledged that the Scottish Government would “support the funding effort required”. Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said the government would pledge “millions” if necessary to the restoration of the building.