The owners of Burnham-On-Sea’s seafront pier say they hope to re-open the facilities on Sunday (August 8th) as a clean-up operation nears completion following a big blaze on Thursday.
Several skip loads of charred debris were removed from the back of the building on Friday as the clean-up operation was underway, pictured here.
Duncan MacDonald from Pavilion owners J Holland and Son told Burnham-On-Sea.com that the clean up was progressing well and he added: “We should be back open on Sunday, all being well.”
The team patched up the area of the landmark’s iconic dome to make it weather proof ahead of wet weather this weekend.
A fire service spokeswoman said on Friday that its investigation into Thursday’s blaze had found that the cause was undetermined, but not suspicious.
Duncan, pictured below, praised the fire crews, saying: “Our thanks go to the fire crews for their quick response and amazing work to ensure the whole building didn’t go up. We can’t praise them enough.”
“Fortunately, no-one was hurt, and the damage has been constrained to one corner of the building. There’s some water damage inside, but that damage wasn’t severe – it could have been far more serious.”
“A big thank you also goes to the local community and all those who have passed on their well wishes since the fire.”
As the skips of charred material were taken away on Friday, the pier’s plans to re-open gathered pace in time for the busy summer holiday season.
Firefighters had been called to the historic Pavilion at around 12.30pm on Thursday after smoke and flames were seen billowing from the rear of the building in a storage area. The flames spread to part of the dome but the crews’ work stopped it spreading further.
Crews were quickly on scene, tackling the blaze with water jets, but high winds spread the fire to part of the back dome of the pier.
The fire was extinguished by around 1.30pm by multiple crews from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service and Avon Fire and Rescue Service.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has issued the following report: “At 12.30pm, fire appliances attended a developed fire on the pier, following multiple calls from members of the public. A request was made for a further three appliances, along with the incident command unit.”
“The fire involved a single storey building used as an amusement arcade. Four breathing apparatus, one hose reel jet and two main jets were in use.”
The report continued: “At 1336 hrs, a further three appliances were requested for breathing apparatus. Also, Avon Fire and Rescue Service sent Weston-super-Mare with their turntable ladder to support the incident. Crews added an additional hose reel jet, fogspike and triple extension ladder to the equipment in use at the scene.”
“At 1416 hrs, crews began stripping external flashing to gain access to the fire in the wall cavity, and damp down hot spots. Western Power were requested to isolate the electricity. The incident is being scaled down.”
The crews’ progress was shown live on Burnham-On-Sea.com’s seafront webcam which showed the blaze first starting at 12.29pm. Smoke was seen initially, followed by flames.
Opened just before World War One, the Pavilion was taken over by new owners in 2017, having been family-owned for nearly 50 years. Read more about its history.
Video of Burnham-On-Sea pier fire
