INSURERS FOR the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) have begun legal action against Arrest Fire and Security Ltd, which installed fire and security devices in the building before the fire in 2018.
The GSA’s listed Mackintosh library building caught fire in 2018 after a previous blaze in 2014. Sprinklers ‘had not been fitted’ after the first fire, which ‘almost entirely destroyed’ the library in May 2014. A spokesperson for the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA) stated at first that ‘it was understood’ that automatic sprinklers had not been fully fitted due to the building undergoing refurbishment’.
Later, a report found that flammable insulation panels were used in the refurbishment, and fire inspectors are still investigating ‘whether these’ materials used ‘exacerbated the spread’, but described the insulation panels as ‘similar to those used’ on Grenfell Tower. In September, a fire safety expert criticised the use of flammable insulation, and in November 2018 an architect claimed that the fire was due to ‘seriously flawed’ fire safety planning on site.
Later that month, the GSA defended its management, specifically responding that no link ‘could be made’ between this and the two fires. Then, building company Kier refused to release a key report unless it was redacted, meaning Scottish politicians in charge of the inquiry had to reject its submission.
In January 2019, the investigation was told that the fire protection system was ‘ineffective’ at the time of the fire, before the GSA issued a ‘trenchant’ response to those claims and others at the Scottish government’s inquiry into the blaze, and that February it was announced that the alarm ‘was not raised’ when the fire took hold. Most recently in June 2019, the investigation into the fire by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was in its ‘final phases’.
The Times has now reported that Travelers Syndicate 5000 at Lloyd’s, the insurers for the GSA, have begun legal proceedings at the Court of Session in Edinburgh against Arrest Fire and Security Ltd, which trades as Arrest 24:7, ‘which was contracted to provide anti-fire security systems’ for the Charles Rennie Mackintosh building destroyed in the fire.
The insurer said it was ‘dissatisfied’ by the services provided, and wants the court to pass an order stating Arrest was in breach of a ‘duty of care’ in relation to installing the fire alarm and fire protection systems, with Judge Lord Brailsford granting a motion made by the insurer to hand over documents ‘relating to the deal between the two businesses’.
Arrest’s website still confirms that it was ‘involved in the rebuilding’ of the school after its 2014 fire, and states: ‘As an experienced fire and security company, Arrest Security recently completed a range of services at all sites of the [GSA]. Providing a wealth of bespoke security solutions for this client, our dedicated team of engineers installed multiple intruder alarms, fire systems, CCTV and access control systems at all sites including the famous Mackintosh building.
‘The bespoke security package offered by Arrest Security adhered to all current regulations to ensure all buildings within the school remain compliant in terms of health and safety and safeguard human life at all times.’
The insurer’s legal team asked for the motion as the company ‘needed to access documents to help prepare their case’, and lawyers for Arrest contested the action, arguing that ‘there was no need for the documents to be handed over’.