Fire at Norwich pub
A fire broke out in a building behind the Maypole Pub in Old Norwich Road in Ipswich at around 10.15pm on 6th September causing structural damage and damage to trees and bushes.
It was thought that butane cylinders were being stored in the outbuilding so fire crews tackled the blaze from a safe distance. It took firefighters from Colchester Road almost 2 hours to extinguish the blaze.
Watch manager said: “The building was fully engulfed on our arrival. At the present moment, we do not know how the fire started. We attacked the fire when we first arrived and found that cylinders were involved and reverted to the policy for fires with cylinders and fought it from a safe distance.”
Fire destroys warehouse as owner watches Wembley match
A company has been destroyed in a fire while the owner watched a football match at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening.
John Charles, who owns AquAid UK in Cambridge received a call from an employee to say that the building was going up in flames.
By the time Mr Charles made it back to the company based in an industrial unit at Dales Manor Business Park, 8 fire crews were at the scene trying to control the flames. It took firefighters around 7 hours to extinguish the blaze.
No one was injured in the fire. Neighbours were told to keep windows and doors shut and to stay indoors if possible.
Mr Charles said: “The unit has been totally gutted by the fire. It’s when you walk inside it that you realise it’s been burned to cinders. The warehouse is our distribution centre and thankfully, there was nobody inside at the time. I was watching the game at Wembley when one of my employees who lives nearby called me to say he could see black smoke billowing from the warehouse. It was a horrible feeling and I couldn’t believe it when I saw the scale of the damage. The fire also spread next door, although it looks like it will be OK.”
Mr Charles remains determined that business will carry on as usual and has found a temporary warehouse from which he can run the business.
An investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire.
200 escape fire at Cheltenham nightclub
A fire broke out at a Cheltenham nightclub in the early hours of the 5th of April.
200 revellers were safely evacuated from Lace Night Club in Cheltenham.
The fire which was thought to have started in an air conditioning unit in the roof of the building was attended by 20 firefighters who managed to extinguish the blaze.
Mark Astle from the fire service said: “When our crews arrived, they were met by a full scale evacuation and smoke pouring from the roof. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the building and quickly completed a search for anyone left. Other crews made their way to the top of the building and extinguished the fire, which had spread into cabling. Thankfully, the quick actions of the nightclub staff in clearing the building of so many people prevented this becoming potentially a much more serious incident.”
The cause of the blaze is not yet known but an investigation is being carried out.
Owners vow to rebuild after historic pub destroyed in fire
A historical Cornwall pub that was voted ‘Pub of the Year’ in 2010, has been seriously damaged in a fire.
The fire, believed to have started in the chimney at the Pandora Inn near Falmouth on 24th March, destroyed the roof and the first floor of the building.
Neighbour, Cordelia Folland, said: “People come from all over the world to see the Pandora. It’s a real blow with the tourist season just beginning. It’s very upsetting.”
It took 40 firefighters and 6 fire appliances several hours to extinguish the blaze.
Pub landlord Steve Franks said that all of his possessions were destroyed in the fire: “With the wind going through the way it was, it went straight through the building. It took hold within minutes. All the personal belongings, every photo, every piece of clothing; all I’ve got on now is all I’ve got. But at least no-one’s hurt, that’s the main thing”.
Inspections are to be carried out on the structure of the pub to assess the full extent of the damage but the owners have vowed to rebuild it.