Smells of an insurance scam. New owners...millions spent....and apparantly at least one of the owners was off in Spain on "holiday" when it happened. Hmmmm.
On the other side, I see and hear far too much from that Piers Morgan for my liking. I wish he'd go up in smoke.
The historic Lancashire pier has burned down in a fire during the night. Fire crews were called to the derelict Fleetwood Pier, built in 1910, at about 0430 BST after reports of smoke rising from the roof of the main building. About 60 firefighters tackled the blaze, which they said was already well alight by the time they arrived. Police said the pier was "completely gutted". Investigators will look into the fire's cause later but said it was too early to say if it was started deliberately.
A spokeswoman said 10 fire engines, a major incident support unit, a mobile fire station and two aerial ladder platforms had been sent to the scene. The fire in the Lancashire resort, just north of Blackpool, is believed to have started near the front of the pier by a former pub and cafe. Fire crews have been pumping water from a boating lake a mile away to help control the blaze but said the structure had been completely destroyed. The surrounding roads have been closed off though the fire is now said to be under control.
Cathy Stacey from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Most of the pier has been destroyed - certainly the buildings on it. The concrete structure that forms the base of the pier is still intact and the metal supporting beams." Fire crews said they expected to remain at the scene for the rest of the day.
Eric Smallman, owner of the Savoy Hotel opposite the pier, witnessed the blaze. He said: "Fifty per cent of the pier has actually collapsed - the other 50% is pretty well ablaze. The flames are starting to come through what's left of the main building. The fire brigade are spraying water on it but apart from that I think there's not a lot else they can do." He added: "I don't think they're actually attempting to go into the building or anything like that - I think it's just a case of trying to fight the fire from outside."
Sheila Grace, 60, was born in Fleetwood and owns the nearby Sandpipers Hotel on the Esplanade. She said it was a sad end for the pier: "I know things have changed, but it was the jewel in Fleetwood's crown, everybody headed there and everybody knew it, and in the last few years it has been just nothing." Businesswoman Diana Christy, 59, added: "A lot of local residents have been saying that it will go up in smoke for a long time because it's been empty and in disrepair for years. This is the last thing that Fleetwood needed right now."
Fleetwood Pier was rebuilt in 1953 after being damaged by a fire in 1952. The blaze on 25 August 1952 started in the cinema and created an inferno that could be seen from 20 miles away. The attraction was first built in 1910 - the last to be constructed in the "golden age" of pier building, from 1860 to 1910. It was built with a promenade deck and 600ft long jetty with an ornate oriental-style pavilion, which opened to the public in 1911.
The pier continued to remain profitable throughout the declining years of the seaside resort, even receiving a £70,000 facelift in 1972. But in recent years it has gone through changes of ownership and uncertainty over its future. The pier was sold to a Lancashire businessman for about £500,000 last year. Mike Simmons, also known as comedian Joey Blower, had promised a new lease of life for the pier by converting it into luxury apartments. But hundreds of people signed a petition objecting to the plans.
Hastings pier destroyed by fire Two men arrested on suspicion of arson after 95% of Victorian pier burnt down in major blaze
Matthew Weaver and agencies
guardian.co.uk,
5 October 2010
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of arson after Hastings pier burned down in a "major blaze" that started in the early hours of this morning. The fire, which was reported at around 1am, destroyed 95% of the structure, East Sussex fire and rescue service said. Amateur footage of the blaze uploaded to YouTube showed the Victorian pier engulfed in flames several metres high.
Speaking at 3.35am as the fire continued behind him, the leader of local borough council, Jeremy Birch, described the blaze as "terrible" and said firefighters could not get on to the structure to put it out. "Hopefully we will have something left that is saveable," he told YouTube user MagikMe. In a statement later, Birch said the council would be assessing the damage. "The firefighters have worked heroically to try and contain the blaze but unfortunately because of the wind, the state of the pier and the danger of going on it, the fire really took hold," he said.
Sussex police said two men from St Leonards, aged 18 and 19, had been detained and were being questioned about the cause of the fire on the pier, which has been closed since 2006.
Firefighters with eight fire engines were trying to extinguish the blaze, the fire service said. By dawn the fire appeared under control, with the pier reduced to a smouldering wreck. There were no reports of any injuries. Simon Rose, spokesman for East Sussex fire and rescue service, described the fire as a "major blaze". "At the moment about 95% of the structure has been destroyed. It's quite significant. The priority for the firefighters is to preserve as much of the structure as they can to see if something can be done with it in the future."
Campaigners in Hastings have been trying to raise money and support to refurbish the pier with modern attractions. The Hastings Pier and White Rock Trust was hoping to secure community ownership of the pier. Designed by Eugenius Birch, it opened in 1872 and was originally 277 metres (910ft) long.
On a "Save Hastings Pier!" Facebook page, members reacted with shock to the blaze. Robbie Clark wrote: "It's so wrong!", while Martyn Reed, from Hastings, said: "Can't believe the pier's been burnt down!!!!"
Dale Turner, who runs the Seaspray bed and breakfast opposite the pier, criticised authorities for failing to get a compulsory purchase order through. "This is the sort of thing people were worried about. The pier had been allowed to fall into ruin and now we may never get it back," he said.
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