DOGS are being used to investigate the huge fire at the new £20m building at the University of Nottingham while construction workers returned to the smoldering scene.
The sniffers form part of a huge investigation into the so far unknown cause of the blaze by searching out "accelerants" which could include petrol and paraffin.
Some of the debris is still too hot for investigators to approach so CCTV, witness statements and phone calls are being analysed.
John Mills, group manager at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue, praised the efforts of firefighters who tackled Friday's blaze.
He said: "I've never done a fire investigation on a building that size. The hydrocarbon dogs are brought in to see if any accelerants are used. At this stage, we can't rule anything out and must explore."
He explained that all buildings under construction are more vulnerable to fire because some precautions are still being built themselves.
"We always try to reflection big incidents and we are hoping to work with the construction industry to see if any lessons can be learned. This incident has been a catalyst for that."
Despite Triumph Road remaining closed, university heads were keen to stress it was business as usual.
A faint smell of ash lingered in the air in Jubilee Campus yesterday, a week before Fresher's Week when most students traditionally return.
International students have arrived and some undergraduates who returned early described the atmosphere on Jubilee Campus as "eerie".
"I think that's the best attitude," said English student Jonathan Lobley, 19, of Derby Road. "You can't close everything down because of one building. It's two weeks until we start lectures and you've got to move on.
"But one of my friends does chemistry and she said she wanted to do a masters just because of that building. She might change her mind now."
Chen Chang, 23, is an exchange student from the university's Ningbo campus in China. The architecture student, who lives in Dunkirk, said: "That building is beautiful and looked like it was nearly finished. It's a tragedy that it's gone."
The latest statement from the university, registrar Dr Paul Greatrix said: "We want to stress that it is business as usual at The University of Nottingham."
"Our chemistry department, while understandably disappointed by this loss, won't be affected either from a teaching or research perspective in the immediate future. This is a setback for us but one from which we have no doubt we will recover."
CONSTRUCTION worker Chad Birkin returned to work on Monday morning not to don his hi-vis jacket, but simply to see the wreckage of months of hard-work.
The 21-year-old from Pinxton had been working at the new carbon neutral laboratory at Jubilee Park for more than two months and left the site just hours before Friday's inferno began to rage.
He said: "It's devastating. I think we were about 70 per cent there, most of the structural work was done.
"My blood, sweat and tears have gone into that. Each timber board we lifted was 50kg so it was a lot of graft.
"Everyone who worked on that job will be devastated; a lot of work went into it."
Fortunately for Chad, who is self-employed, he has contacts in the industry and is confident he will find a new project soon.
"I just wanted to see it for my own eyes," he said. "I've been on some big jobs but this was so different to everything else. It was all top spec materials and there was no cutting corners. I was so proud to be a part of it."
Mr Birkin said he would happily return to the fold as and when the University of Nottingham announces its forward plan for the building it has vowed to replace.
"Something so innovative like this is momentous," he said. "You don't see a completely wooden building every day."
For now, the university said it cannot speculate on when they can expect to rebuild the building as it makes room for staff that would have moved in to the research centre.
"We will still be doing the same chemistry research," said registrar Dr Paul Greatrix. "Just not in a brand-spanking new building."
