Cross UK – the Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures UK – has issued a feature article exploring fire risks in historic and listed buildings, with a focus on the Glasgow Union Street fire on 8 March 2026.
Cross UK writes:
… Many of these structures remain in active use but were built with traditional materials and methods that influence how fires start and spread…
…Risks are often heightened by the absence of a clear, documented fire strategy and by years of alterations that introduce hidden voids and complexity. Effective management is crucial, requiring a competent fire risk assessment and a well-defined fire strategy to address these unique challenges…
The recent fire that affected a B-listed building on Union Street in Glasgow is a reminder of the particular risks associated with older and heritage structures. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined and investigations are ongoing. However, the incident illustrates how fires in historic buildings can lead to substantial loss even when there are, fortunately, no casualties.
Emergency services responded quickly and there were no reported injuries. Nevertheless, the fire destroyed the businesses housed within the building. The damage to the historic structure and the disruption to surrounding businesses and transport infrastructure highlights the wider consequences such fires can have on city centres and local economies.
For organisations concerned with structural and fire safety learning, incidents such as this provide an opportunity to reflect on the challenges of managing risk in older buildings.
Historic buildings as working parts of the built environment
Historic and listed buildings form an important part of the built environment across the UK. They are often associated with museums, stately homes or heritage attractions. In reality, many heritage buildings, are ‘ordinary’ working buildings. Particularly those listed as B or C (Scotland) or grade II (*) and II (England and Wales). Sometimes the listing relates only to a façade or a feature of the building.
These historic buildings commonly contain shops, offices, restaurants, apartments, hotels and entertainment venues. In city centres such as Glasgow, historic buildings contribute strongly to the character and economic activity of the area. When a fire severely damages or destroys such a building, the impact extends far beyond the physical structure. Businesses may be displaced, employment affected and surrounding infrastructure disrupted. Many small businesses will never recover from the catastrophic loss of such fires and quite often the loss of historic fabric is permanent. The Union Street fire therefore demonstrates an important point, how, even when no one is injured, there can be significant consequences of a major fire in a historic building.
Construction characteristics of older buildings
Larger historic buildings were constructed using materials and techniques that differ significantly from those used in modern construction. These characteristics influence how fires may start and spread.
Typical features of traditional construction include:
- Timber floor structures
- Lath and plaster walls and ceilings
- Cast iron frames and columns
- Hidden voids within floors, walls and roofs
- Large staircases or vertical shafts
- Complex roof spaces
- Limited separation between occupancies
Some of these elements can provide inherent fire resistance when intact. For example, traditional lath and plaster construction can provide a degree of protection if the plaster remains well bonded and continuous.
However, deterioration over time or repeated alterations can weaken these features. Timber floors, concealed cavities and voids can allow fire and smoke to travel unseen through a building. Where multiple floors or roof spaces are interconnected, fire spread may occur rapidly once these pathways are established. Size can affect how a building performs, particularly where compartmentation is aged or limited. For example, a Victorian terraced house will perform differently to a similarly aged large, four storey, multi-occupancy commercial building. The Victorian terrace will meet brick separation to the next house and will therefore likely be controllable by the Fire and Rescue service.
Lack of documented fire strategies
A recurring issue with older buildings is the absence of a clear and documented fire strategy. Modern buildings are normally designed with a defined fire safety approach covering issues such as compartmentation, structural fire resistance, means of escape, detection systems and smoke control. Historic buildings often pre-date these modern fire safety design practices by many decades. Original drawings may be incomplete or unavailable, and the building may never have been assessed as a complete fire safety system. The strategy, if any, at time of building may have been as simple as a travel distance to get people out of the building quickly.
There may also have been little to no thought given to property protection as there were limited choices of systems available at the time. For example, sprinklers with automatic sprinkler heads really only became a choice in the late 1800s. As a result of these factors, owners, managers and designers may not fully understand how the building is expected to behave in the event of fire. This lack of clarity can complicate fire risk assessments and emergency planning.
Alterations and changes of use
Another major risk arises from the way historic buildings evolve over time. Many buildings experience multiple changes of use during their lifetime. A property originally constructed as a warehouse, office or retail unit may later become a residential building, restaurant, bar or entertainment venue, and vice versa. Each change of use can alter the internal layout, occupancy patterns and fire loading within the building.
Partitions may be removed or installed, services introduced and floor layouts modified. These changes can inadvertently compromise original compartmentation or introduce new routes for fire and smoke spread. Service penetrations are a common example of such compromisation. Ductwork, cables and pipework may pass through floors and walls that were not originally designed to accommodate them. If these openings are not properly fire stopped, they can allow fire to spread rapidly between compartments. Over time, these incremental changes can leave the building with a complex and poorly understood internal arrangement.
Management and risk assessment
Guidance from sources such as Historic Environment Scotland and Historic England emphasises that effective management is essential to fire safety in heritage buildings. Because each building is unique, a risk-based approach is required that reflects the building’s construction, layout and current use. Important aspects of this approach include the following.
1. Conduct a competent Fire Risk Assessment
The legal requirement for a fire risk assessment in the UK is to consider life risk to relevant persons. In historic buildings, that assessment should consider the unique characteristics of the building. Heritage buildings have particular risks and limitations associated with them – such as old doors, hidden voids, and poor compartmentalisation. In complex buildings, specialist advice may be required to understand how fire could develop within concealed spaces or older construction systems. For this reason, the fire risk assessment is likely to require being carried out by a competent fire risk assessor with experience and an understanding of fire safety within heritage buildings. A thorough fire risk assessment should identify potential hazards, fire spread routes and vulnerable areas of the building.
2. Develop a fire strategy
Property protection should be a significant consideration for any owner or manager of a listed or historic building. It is important to understand that a statutory fire risk assessment alone is unlikely to be sufficient to protect the building’s fabric. These assessments are primarily focused on life safety, ensuring that occupants can escape safely in the event of a fire, rather than preventing extensive damage once evacuation has taken place. Given the often irreplaceable nature of historic buildings, it is important to consider how fire can be prevented, controlled and limited in its impact. Developing a formal fire strategy that addresses both life safety and property protection provides a critical foundation for understanding and managing fire risk. Such a strategy should consider the building’s construction, layout, use and vulnerabilities, as well as set out clear measures for detection, compartmentation, suppression and management. A well-developed fire strategy can also support coordination between multiple Responsible Persons (RP) in leased buildings. It provides a consistent framework that leaseholders can use to inform their own fire risk assessments and management arrangements within individual units, helping to ensure a coherent and effective approach to fire safety across the whole building.
Fire strategy and risk assessment considerations
Cooperation and coordination
Where a building is leased, there are often multiple RPs, including leaseholders and, in many cases, the landlord as well. Responsibility will depend on who has control over specific areas and fire safety measures within the building. It is important that leaseholders actively engage with the landlord’s overarching fire risk assessment and any existing fire strategy. Their own fire risk assessments should align with this information and ensure that identified risks are properly considered and controlled within their demised areas. Equally, the landlord, as an RP, should take steps to ensure that this coordination is taking place, by providing oversight and maintaining a clear understanding of how fire risks are being managed across the whole building. Effective cooperation is essential to avoid gaps, inconsistencies or conflicting measures that could undermine overall fire safety.
Early detection
Early detection is particularly important in heritage buildings. Fire detection and alarm systems can provide early warning, increasing the likelihood that a fire can be controlled before it grows to a scale that causes major damage.
Maintenance and housekeeping
Poor housekeeping can significantly increase fire risk. Accumulations of combustible materials, poorly maintained electrical installations and blocked escape routes all increase the likelihood and consequences of fire.
Regular inspection and maintenance are therefore essential elements of fire safety management.
Control of contractors and hot work
Maintenance, refurbishment and repair work can present a significant fire risk. Activities such as welding, cutting and roofing work involving naked flames have historically been responsible for several major fires in historic buildings. Appropriate controls such as permit systems, supervision and post work fire checks are important safeguards.
Protection of compartmentation
Even where the historic construction provided some degree of separation, alterations over time may have compromised this. Maintaining the integrity of floors, ceilings and walls can significantly limit the spread of fire. In some cases, sympathetic upgrades may be required to improve compartmentation while respecting the historic fabric.
Control of fire loads and ignition sources
This is a common consideration for any fire risk assessment, but particular attention should be paid to modern materials in leased spaces. These might introduce ignition sources, potential for rapid fire growth, and fire loads that were never envisioned when the building was built.
Suppression
Depending on the risks and hazards identified within the fire risk assessment, the findings may determine that a fire suppression system might reduce the risk or hazard to an acceptable level.
Balancing conservation and fire safety
Improving fire safety in historic buildings often requires balancing two objectives. These are the protection of life and property, and the preservation of historic character and fabric. Measures such as fire doors, fire stopping and detection systems may need to be carefully designed to avoid unnecessary damage to historic materials or architectural features.
Achieving this balance usually requires collaboration between fire engineers, architects, conservation officers, building owners and regulators. Sensitive and well-designed interventions can often significantly improve fire safety while maintaining a building’s historic value.
Summary
While the causes of the Union Street fire in Glasgow remain under investigation, the incident highlights important considerations. Historic buildings can present complex fire risks due to their construction, hidden voids and history of alteration, and their fire performance is often not well understood. Effective management is therefore essential, including understanding the building fabric, maintaining fire protection measures and carefully controlling changes of use or refurbishment. Although there were no injuries reported in the Union Street fire, the loss or damage of a historic building has lasting economic and cultural impacts. These buildings are active parts of the built environment, and protecting them requires a proactive and coordinated approach to fire safety that recognises both their vulnerabilities and their importance.
Appendix
Examples of major heritage building fires in the UK
- Uppark House (1989): A fire caused by roof repair work destroyed the roof and upper floors of the 17th-century National Trust house, leading to a major restoration project
- Windsor Castle (1992): A fire caused by a spotlight in Queen Victoria’s Private Chapel severely damaged 100 rooms, including St George’s Hall
- The Cowgate (2002): A large fire in Edinburgh’s historic old town destroyed several buildings
- Glasgow School of Art (2014 and 2018): The iconic Mackintosh Building was ravaged by a fire in 2014, with a second, more catastrophic fire in 2018 ruining restoration efforts and causing the building to collapse
- Clandon Park House (2015): A massive fire gutted this Grade I listed National Trust property in Surrey, destroying much of its interior and collection
- Battersea Arts Centre (2015): A fire in London caused extensive damage to the roof and grand hall of the Grade II* listed building
- Royal Clarence Hotel (2016): A fire destroyed the Grade II listed hotel in Exeter, considered one of the oldest in England
- Wythenshawe Hall (2016): A timber-framed Tudor manor house (Grade II*) in Manchester was severely damaged by an arson attack
- Cameron House Hotel (2017): A fire at this 19th-century luxury hotel in Scotland resulted in two deaths
- Mackintosh Queen’s Cross (2018): The only church designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh was damaged by a blaze
References and useful links
1. Historic Environment Scotland
- Fire protection and the built heritage
- Managing change in the historic environment: fire and historic buildings
2. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
3. London Fire Brigade
- Fire safety in heritage and historical buildings
- Heritage fire risk assessments
- Salvage plans – guidance and templates
4. Historic England: Fire safety in historic buildings
5. Cumberland Council
