Firefighters tackle flames in roof space of Foster + Partners-designed building

Firefighters were called to tackle a blaze at Lend Lease鈥檚 Hydro Arena development in Glasgow on Saturday afternoon.

Forty firefighters had to be dispatched to deal with a fire in the roof space of the 45m tall building on the Clyde Waterfront.

John Rae, group commander at the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, said it was a challenge for crews to tackle the blaze in the unfinished roof because of the 鈥渦nusual design鈥 of the Foster + Partners鈥 scheme.

He added: 鈥淭he initial fire fighting actions and tactical decision making from the first attending crews prevented the fire from spreading far more rapidly than it did and thus limited the damage caused.鈥

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An investigation into the cause of the incident is underway and staff from Lend Lease worked over the weekend to begin to assess the damage.

It is expected to take a week to fully assess the structure of building and come to a conclusion on how the programme for the project will be affected.

The arena is due to host a series of concerts by Rod Stewart in September.

The 12,000 seat arena is set to play an integral role in the 2014 Commonwealth Games hosting both gymnastics and netball events.

No-one was hurt during the incident.

A Lend Lease spokesman said: 鈥 At first sight it appears any damage is superficial, and we have been given the go-ahead to restart work. There were no injuries. An investigation into the cause is underway.鈥