POOR construction was today blamed for a fire which forced part of the Scottish Parliament building to be evacuated on the last day of term.
Smouldering rubbish outside caused smoke to appear at the front of the building just a couple of hours after MSPs had finished their last business before the summer recess, but many staff and some visitors were still in the building.
It is thought
a discarded cigarette end set fire to accumulated rubbish behind metal railings close to the staff entrance to the parliament in the Royal Mile.
A senior fire service source said the building had "not been very well finished" and a gap between the wall and the pavement had allowed a build of cigarette ends and other rubbish.
He said it appeared this pile of rubbish had caught fire, probably as the result of a carelessly discarded cigarette end.
Smoke then got into the dry riser – a narrow void running up the inside of building to give easy access for fire hoses – and spread to several floors.
The alarm was raised just before 5.30pm, and around 20 firefighters in three appliances and a turntable were sent to the scene, and the fire was quickly extinguished.
Independent Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald said poor finishing work may have been due to the rush to complete the much-delayed £414m building in time for the opening by the Queen in 2004.
Ms MacDonald said: "It was a huge construction site and so it would be strange for there not to be parts of it that have not been as well finished as others.
"Unfortunately, because of the ill-starred history of the parliament building and the poor quality strategic management exposed at the Fraser inquiry, there will always be a feeling that perhaps the building was not as good as it might have been.
"It's quite possible this weakness identified as a result of this fire was one of the parts of the building that was overlooked or rushed at the finishing stage when everything had to be completed in time for the official opening.
"We should be grateful this was a minor fire and it was attended to quickly and effectively."
A parliament spokeswoman said about 50 people had to be evacuated from the media tower and the public entrance area when the fire alarm was raised.
MSPs and others drinking in the bat were not required to leave the building.
The spokeswoman said: "The Scottish Parliament fire deterrent system is maintained in accordance with all relevant codes of practice and is tested on a weekly basis.
"This was a one-off incident. We will therefore wait for a full report to be lodged."
The full article contains 458 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
