It was September 9th 2008 and Fleetwood Pier was on fire, it had made the top story on the news and I vividly remember switching on the TV in a villa in Spain.
The strapline at the bottom of the screen said ‘huge blaze at Fleetwood Pier’ - I had to look twice. It was so sad to see the footage - flames leaping from the pier building, the twisted metal of the iron framework and our local fire teams battling to dampen the flames. All I could do was watch. I’d have been there, reporting the story, had I been at home.
Our town has woken to see huge plumes of smoke and 70ft flames leaping from the Edwardian attraction - the pier where I’d spent hours with my grandad as a child.
Despite the efforts of more than 70 firefighters, the historic boardwalk was completely engulfed. Water was pumped from the sea and nearby boating lake, while aerial ladders and high powered jets were used.
But it was all in vain as by 8am the pier had been transformed into a tangled mess of twisted metal and burnt out buildings. Within a few weeks the site had been demolished and cleared and despite efforts to redevelop the site, it remains untouched. These pictures are sad reminder of what happened and how events unfolded...
23. Fleetwood Pier Fire
Group Manager Kyran Ronson was in charge at the fire Photo: Rob Lock
