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London’s Somerset House narrowly prevented “full catastrophe” on the size of the Notre Dame blaze when it caught hearth final week, its director has mentioned.
About 125 firefighters and 20 hearth engines attended the hearth on the arts venue on the Strand on 17 August, which broken the roof and a part of the advanced’s west wing.
Jonathan Reekie, director of Somerset House Trust, mentioned it was due to “actually quick-thinking employees” and the “superb” response of London Fire Brigade that the hearth was shortly put out.
No-one was injured and the venue has begun a “phased reopening” this weekend.
Somerset House hosted vogue exhibition The Lore of Loverboy and open-air voguing present The Mighty Crown Ball on Saturday.
Mr Reekie warned reconstruction work might take years, however was grateful the harm had not been worse.
“I feel I can say that if that fireside hadn’t been noticed and tackled as shortly because it was by the extraordinary emergency providers, this might have been a whole catastrophe,” he mentioned.
“Very fortunately, it did not grow to be a sort of Notre Dame or Glasgow School of Art.”
A fireplace engulfed the historic cathedral in Paris in 2019, toppling its spire and destroying most of its roof, whereas blazes badly broken the Scottish artwork college’s Mackintosh Building in 2014 and 2018.
London Fire Brigade is investigating the reason for the hearth at Somerset House.
Queen Elizabeth I is among the many former stately residence’s earlier residents, having lived there from the age of 20 earlier than she grew to become queen in 1558, in keeping with Somerset House’s web site.
Priceless paintings held within the website’s Courtauld Gallery, together with works by Van Gogh, Monet and Cezanne, was “unaffected” by the blaze and it is because of reopen to the general public on Sunday.
Mr Reekie added many of the venue’s services and occasions would resume as regular inside “a number of extra days” however reconstruction would take for much longer.
“We centered on find out how to get the constructing again on its ft, find out how to get individuals again into the constructing,” he mentioned.
“I feel when it comes to nearly all of what we do, we’re speaking about a number of extra days.
“Of course the reconstruction shall be months, if not years.”
The constructing is used as an arts and occasions venue and can also be residence to quite a lot of artists, makers and inventive companies who use the advanced’s workspaces and studios.
