SAFETY experts are investigating whether the blaze which ripped through a £20m university building was caused by "unsafe working practices on the construction site."
The Health and Safety Executive says it is looking the cause of the fire at the University of Nottingham's Jubilee Campus. Police and fire service investigators are also continuing their inquiries.
Twelve fire engines and dozens of firefighters battled through the night as flames tore through the university's new Carbon Neutral Laboratory at around 8.45pm last Friday.
The empty timber structure, which was near completion, was being built by construction company Morgan Sindall.
A spokesperson for HSE said: "The HSE is working with police and fire services to investigate the cause of the fire at the Nottingham University campus.
"HSE's involvement will be to establish whether the fire was caused by unsafe working practices on a construction site, and to consider adequacy of the fire precautions in place."
A spokesperson for Morgan Sindall said the company was "greatly saddened" to see the devastation caused by the fire.
They said: "Everyone on the project team has been working hard to deliver this state-of-the-art low carbon laboratory for the university and we are, of course, greatly saddened.
"We are supporting the fire service investigation into the cause of the incident and thank its officers for their efforts to tackle and contain the blaze."
The building was being part-funded by a £12m donation from pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.
A University of Nottingham spokesperson said: "Our commitment to sustainability remains as strong as ever, as we begin to work with partners on plans for the future – although it is still early days.
"We are also working with Nottinghamshire Police and await the outcome of their investigation into the cause of the fire.
"In the meantime, it is business as usual at the university and we are looking forward to welcoming our new first-year students this weekend."
Notts Police added: "We have concluded our examination of the site, which is now subject to the Health and Safety Executive, but our investigation continues into establishing the cause of the fire."
