Saturday 13 September 2014

Fire in Nottingham

So many people have asked about this, I thought I'd write a generic response.

Last night (12 September) a new chemistry building at the University of Nottingham was destroyed by fire.

Aftermath

It was a horribly spectacular blaze tackled by 60 firefighters.

BBC NEWS REPORT ON THE FIRE

The building was under construction, about 70% complete. It happened at night and no-one was hurt.

It was not the university's main chemistry building, where we film Periodic Videos.

In fact the new building was on a separate but nearby campus.

However everyone in the chemistry department was looking forward to using the new labs. Our very own Professor Pete Licence was to oversee their operation.

Artist's impression

It is too early to know how the fire started and what will happen next.

We had been meaning to make a film about its construction and, in fact, had recently scheduled a film shoot but cancelled at the last minute.

I sincerely hope the project starts again and we get to make that film!

PS: The destroyed building was the "GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry". More at this link.

PPS: University statement.