'Night the Fun Died' - 30 years since the Fun House at Blackpool Pleasure Beach went up in flames

Almost to the day The Gazette' s headlines read 'Night the fun died'. And it had, not least for staff and those who ran the fun park but for the people who had come to love the attraction. A pizza deliverer had called the fire brigade just after 11pm, when he heard an explosion and saw flames. Staff in the seafront admin block had been evacuated by a firebomb scare just four hours before the fire. The 55-year-old five storey Fun House, with its timber and fibreglass cladding, went up like a fireball, according to witnesses. Its loss was a 'sad day' for then managing director Geoffrey Thompson, who said the fire was the worst he could remember at the fun park. He told The Gazette: “A lot of people’s childhood memories have gone up in flames tonight, I don’t remember the ride being built, but it was a strong part of my childhood." READ MORE: Pleasure Beach founder's vision