Glasgow School of Art: A timeline of two fires

It has been almost eight years since a major blaze tore through the world-renowned Glasgow School of Art.

Four years later, a second blaze took hold of the school's Mackintosh building, also causing major damage to neighbouring properties such as the O2 ABC venue.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has now published the findings of its investigation into the 2018 fire - which was so severe that all evidence which could have pointed to its cause had been destroyed.

Here we look at a timeline of events.

The blaze began shortly before 12:30 as final year students prepared for their degree show. Many feared they had lost their work.

Muriel Gray, a former student and the chairwoman of the board of governors, said it was their "absolute worst nightmare".

Firefighters worked "flat out" to save the building, later announcing they had protected 70% of its contents and more than 90% of its structure was viable.

It is confirmed that the library in the Charles Rennie Mackintosh building was lost to the fire.

It was recognised as being one of the finest examples of art nouveau in the world.

"This is an enormous blow and we are understandably devastated," said Ms Gray.

Brad Pitt and Peter Capaldi lead efforts to raise £20m to restore the Mackintosh building.

Dr Who star Capaldi studied graphic design at the art school and Pitt is a well-known admirer of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

GSA estimate restoration work will cost between £20m and £35m.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service found that the fire began when flammable gases from a canister of expanding foam came into contact with the hot surface of a projector.

The blaze began in a studio being used by a student for an exhibition.

Voids in the walls and old ventilation ducts allowed the fire to take hold and spread upwards towards the library.

GSA director Professor Tom Inns said the fire was a "horrible accident" and a review would seek to learn lessons from it.

Glasgow School of Art announces plans for a major expansion of its Garnethill campus, revealing it is in talks to purchase the former Stow College building.

The target of the fundraising drive is raised from £20m to £32 to cover restoration and expansion costs.

Kier Construction is awarded the £25m contract to manage the restoration of the fire-damaged building.

It would be working with a design team led by Page\Park Architects.

The team were expected to arrive on site during the first week in July, with the work finished by February 2019.

A full size prototype of the library is created before work begins on site in 2018.

Experts carried out two years of painstaking research preparing the ground for the prototype.

Specialist woodworkers used the same nails as the original - no screws or glue - to add to the authenticity of their recreation.

Four years since the first devastating fire, another blaze engulfs the Glasgow School of Art.

The fire and rescue service says the damage to the building is "exceptionally significant".

Flames also spread to the nearby O2 ABC music venue, which suffers "extensive damage".

Stuart Robertson, the director of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, said the second fire was "like deja vu from four years ago".

Glasgow School of Art expresses regret over its "poor communications" with the local community following the fire.

Residents and businesses had protested in July over lack of access to their homes and premises after the blaze.

The following month Govan Law Centre threatens Glasgow City Council with legal action over what it describes as the "unacceptable" treatment of locals.

Holyrood's culture committee criticises the art school, saying it did not give sufficient priority to safeguarding the building.

The committee's report concludes that prior to the first fire in 2014, the art school had not addressed the heightened risk of fire to the Mackintosh Building or carried out an adequate risk assessment.

It was particularly concerned about the length of time taken for a modern mist suppression system to be installed. Such a system was still not in place when the second fire broke out.

Investigators looking into the 2018 fire say they are entering the "final phases" of their probe.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said several hundred tonnes of debris still had to be removed from the remains of the building.

The probe was led by fire service group manager David Dourley, who said the final phases of the investigation would be "challenging" due to the volume of debris.

Investigators now say work on the site is expected to take another six months.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service had examined two parts of the building following the removal of 400 tonnes of charred wreckage.

They had also scoured hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and taken witness statements.

But before the final stages of the investigation can take place, more debris needed to be taken away from the "complex site".

Muriel Gray confirms she will step down as chairwoman of the Glasgow School of Art's board of governors - a position she held for eight years.

She says it had been a "privilege" to assist in the running of the "magnificent institution" but felt it was time for a new person to take over.

She had stepped down temporarily from the role due to personal reasons a year after the art school's Mackintosh building was destroyed in 2018.

A business strategy report says the fire-ravaged Mackintosh building should be "faithfully" restored.

GSA bosses say this is the "best option" for the building and hope it can reopen between 2027 and 2032, following construction and renovation work.

The report concluded: "The best option is to undertake a faithful reinstatement within the practical constraints of the regulatory environment, while innovating to make sure that digital technology and sustainability are at the building's heart."

It also said restoring the landmark building would act as a "catalyst for regeneration" of Glasgow's Garnethill area and Sauchiehall Street.

The investigation by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is unable to find a cause for the 2018 blaze.

Its report says that "almost everything within the building was severely damaged or consumed in the fire", including "any potential items of evidence" that could have provided answers.

The cause is recorded as "undetermined" - although there are a number of possibilities which cannot be ruled out.

These were wilful fireraising, a fault or failure in an electrical appliance, or accidental ignition through some other cause.