Southport Pier was delivered a fresh blow on 31 August as fire crews were called to the attraction after an electrical fault caused part of the Grade II-listed structure to catch fire, with the blaze spreading 20 metres before it could be extinguished.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service was called to Southport Pier just before midnight on the evening of 31 August, after a hut on the Grade II-listed attraction caught fire.
The blaze, reportedly caused by an electrical fault, had spread 20 metres along the 165-year-old structure, however crews were able to extinguish the flames within two hours.
As if Southport Pier hadn’t endured enough ill fortune over the last two years, fire was the last thing the iconic wooden attraction needed. But a speedy response from the emergency services rallied.
“Crews arrived to find a hut on fire on the pier affecting an area around 20 metres by five metres on and below the pier,” said a spokesperson for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. “They secured water supplies and began to fight the fire, which had spread to a café building, using main branch hoses both on the pier and from below it.”
“The main body of fire was extinguished by around 12.50am on the morning of 1 September and firefighters continued to damp down the scene and monitor for hot spots, with the fire completely extinguished by 1.34am. Crews left the scene after handing over to Sefton Council and security staff at 2.08am.”
The fire comes just one month after Sefton Council secured the £10m additional funding required to restore and reopen the pier from the government’s Growth Mission Fund, after the project received Listed Building Consent.
“We would like to thank the swift actions of both our onsite security teams and Merseyside Fire and Rescue in dealing with a small fire on Southport Pier overnight,” said a council spokesperson. “The fire was quickly extinguished and at this early stage we do not believe it to have caused any significant damage to the structure.”
“We are working with our partners in Merseyside Fire and Rescue following this and we will continue to share any further information and updates about Southport Pier in due course.”
The council added that it is continuing to liaise with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the progress of the pier renovation project, and expects to hear more on the process and timescale for funding “very shortly.”
“Any repairs necessary as a result of this fire will of course be factored into those works.”
Fire and water
Sefton Council said… “The fire was quickly extinguished and at this early stage we do not believe it to have caused any significant damage…
