BUSINESS owners have been forced to let their staff go following the devastating Glasgow School of Art fire.

Flames tore through the famous Mackintosh building last Friday night and spread to nearby properties including the O2 ABC.

An area, between Renfrew Street, Sauchiehall Street and Dalhosie Street, and a point just beyond Scott Street, have been fenced off following the fire leaving many businesses unable to operate.

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With no indication of when the cordoned off areas of the street will be reopened, one owner has taken the difficult decision to let his staff find other work.

Speaking a week after the blaze, one owner, who asked not to be named, said the outcome has been ‘gut wrenching’.

He added: “I’ve basically had to call it a day.

“For me its very bad but there’s no need to protract what is a very dire situation on to my staff, so I’ve advised them to find employment elsewhere.

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“The main thing is that they can maintain a cash flow because money matters a lot.

“Whether I get insurance or not is another matter because that is going to be a long time.

“In the meantime, bills need to paid, rent, landlords, utilities, council tax etc.

“The council talks about rates and helps a little but at the end of the day, rates are only a smart part of business expenses.

“I employ around 15 full time and part time staff and lots of them were completely dependent on me which is why I took the decision to let them go.

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“We’re now unable to get into the premises and at high risk of infestation which is a big worry for anyone in the food industry.”

It is thought that Building Standards officers may be able to enter the damaged Glasgow School of Art this week - despite the fact the building has moved six inches since the fire and warned that its walls could fall “with no warning”.

Multiple agencies, including Glasgow City Council, Glasgow School of Art and Historic Environment Scotland, are said to be devising a methodology to allow them to safely examine the building.

A suppression system at the Mackintosh building was weeks away from being installed in the building, an expert has said.

It came amid a major restoration project inside the building following a devastating fire in 2014.

Keith MacGillivray, chief executive of the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association, said a fire suppression system had arrived at the Glasgow city centre site the day before the fire but would have taken “a few weeks” to test and install.

He said: “The pumps had arrived the day before but they were in component parts, the reason being the area where the pumps would be fitted, along with water tanks, was quite constricted.

“What they were going to do was put all the parts into the space and then reassemble the pumps there. It would have to be connected to water tanks and tested so it was a few weeks away from being completed.”