Fire destroys historic Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare

Built in 1904 for Edwardian holiday makers, the historic Grand Pier at the popular resort town of Weston-super-Mare has been destroyed in a fire which broke out early this morning.
Apparently nothing will be saved and the pier has collapsed in on itself. I'm not sure how the fire started, but a very sad day indeed..

Here is a picture of the Grand Pier from the site. See the BBC website for the latest news and pictures of the fire: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7528165.stm

Picture by Jo Adams

Only last night I'd mentioned Weston to one of our posters interested in Somerset. It will certainly be sad news as well for my wife who spent many years of her childhood at Weston, as her aunty lived down the road at Axbridge. Just a few years ago, we nearly bought a lovely bungalow just north of the pier on a hillside overlooking Weston Bay. Certainly a very sad day for the town, and for it's many visitors each year.

Living just eighteen miles away, we visit Weston quite often.  Nothing nicer than a stroll along the pier but not nice now to think it may not happen again. The latest news I heard it's suspected that it started in one of the cafe kitchens.  That's obviously not good news, but it would have been worse if it was arson.

That's so sad.  Thank God nobody was hurt.  That reminds me, do you all have working smoke alarms?  The reason I ask is that about 7 years ago, dummy me left a candle burning overnight.  We didn't have a lot of damage and were able to catch it and extinguish it with a garden hose, but only just in time.  I truly believe that I'm here today to be part of this lovely community because our smoke alarm went off at 3:05 AM that day and SAVED OUR LIVES.

If you don't have a smoke alarm, go buy one.  If you do, check it periodically to make sure it's working.  It's very important!!