Princes Street blaze: Experts explain why historic buildings are at heightened risk of fire
Princes Street fire the latest in a series of major incidents in Scotland
Poor maintenance and lack of fire protection systems are among factors that heighten the risk of fires in historic buildings like those devastated by recent major blazes in Scotland, heritage experts said.
They also pointed to fire hazards being posed by repairs being carried out near combustible materials, and buildings being left vacant.
An MSP also highlighted that fires could come as a “liberation” to building owners facing soaring rates bills.
Thursday’s fire in the 157-year-old building in Princes Street in Edinburgh is the latest in a series of significant blazes in historic properties in Scotland, including the Jenners department store fire in 2023, which led to the death of firefighter Barry Martin, the destruction of a building on Union Street beside Central Station in Glasgow in March and two fires at Glasgow School of Art in 2014 and 2018.
Fire also destroyed Victoria’s nightclub in Sauchiehall Street in the city in 2018.
James Garry, assistant director of the Cockburn Association, the Edinburgh Civic Trust, told The Scotsman: “In most cases, the causes of building fires are specific to the individual circumstances of the site.
“What can be said more safely is that historic buildings can face heightened risk where they are vacant, underused, poorly maintained, undergoing works, or lacking modern fire detection and management systems.
“Historic buildings can be especially vulnerable when fire breaks out, particularly where they contain extensive timber structures, hidden voids, or have been left vacant, underused or awaiting redevelopment.”
Niall Murphy, director of the Glasgow City Heritage Trust, said a building’s vulnerability to fire depended on what it was used for and the level of fire risk that posed.
He said: “If construction activity occurs within an old building, hot works - such as welding of leadwork on a roof - can pose a fire hazard, particularly when combustible material like timber joists, sarking or insulation is nearby.”
Mr Garry said lessons must be learned.
He said: “These fires are a stark reminder that Scotland’s historic buildings need active care, regular maintenance, appropriate fire detection and protection, and - wherever possible - viable uses that keep them occupied and looked after.
“A building that is empty and deteriorating is almost always at greater risk than one that is valued, maintained and in daily use.
“We would urge owners, public authorities and policymakers to treat fire prevention in historic buildings as a matter of urgent heritage stewardship.
“The key issue is prevention. Important buildings need to be kept in active use wherever possible, properly maintained, regularly inspected, and protected by appropriate fire safety measures.
Mr Murphy said buildings constructed before the 1890s were particularly at risk.
He said: “These have massive load-bearing stone exterior walls and lighter-weight timber floors and walls lined with plaster and lath.
“These buildings are more vulnerable to fire and can be difficult to compartmentalise.
“Over many decades of use, voids formed in floors and walls as services - including water, gas and electricity - were introduced. Fire can spread through these voids so they must be mapped and fire stopped.
“Compartmentalisation was introduced in the 1890s Police Acts. This is why in mixed-used tenements and commercial buildings constructed after this date, concrete floor slabs separate the ground floor shops from the flats and floors above.”
The Princes Street building now destroyed by fire is owned by London-based Criterion Capital, which planned to turn the building into a hotel with 600 rooms, including around 300 sleeping pods.
Jane Meagher, leader of the the City of Edinburgh Council, said the responsibility for the protection of historic buildings lay “very, very firmly with the owners and with the contractors”.
Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney, who has a particular interest in heritage buildings, said: “Scotland's non-residential listed buildings are at an increased risk of destruction due to a several factors.
“At a UK Government level, VAT is typically charged at 20 per cent for any renovation or restoration work on a listed building, whereas to demolish it and build from scratch is zero-rated for VAT.
“At a Scottish Government level, a massive increase in non-domestic rates, along with the removal of previous exemptions for vacant floorspace in listed buildings by many councils in the last two years, has also inadvertently driven up costs, development risk and made it much less viable to afford renovation or maintenance.
“Cuts to council planning departments have also undermined proactive planning enforcement against negligent owners and increased the time taken to assess and determine planning applications for listed building consent.
"The VAT, planning and rates issues can all compound to trap owners with a significant financial liability, meaning that a sudden fire or demolition might well prove to be a liberation from a mounting rates bill and potential insolvency, particularly as there is little current interest from developers in buying listed buildings with these increasing overheads.
“The planning and tax legislation governing Scotland's listed buildings urgently needs a holistic review to address these unintended consequences and perverse incentives that are conspiring to put our nation's built heritage at ever greater risk.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.