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13/04/2009, 11:23 PM clive gambling Joined on 18/04/2006 pitt meadows.b.c. canada Posts 22 grand pier i have been hearing so many storys on the grand pier i am confused with other peoples storys  i hope they will start re-building the old lady very soon but i like to ask one question does any one know how the fire started? clive gambling    Report

14/04/2009, 4:52 PM Flyer Joined on 17/09/2008 Posts 741 Re: grand pier An electrical problem, detected by heat/smoke detectors in the early hours of that morning, and automatically relayed onto a manned reporting centre. Unfortunately, for reasons unbeknown, the Fire Brigade were not notified for approx 5 hours = total loss! Come to think of it. When aliens land, people often report periods of time that they cannot account for. That's the answer, the aliens were behind the fire, it's obvious isn't it. There has been a lot of talk about UFO's in the area recently!    Report

14/04/2009, 4:57 PM AllMouthNoTrousers Joined on 21/02/2008 Weston Posts 1,012 Re: grand pier  Flyer wrote: When aliens land, people often report periods of time that they cannot account for. That's the answer, the aliens were behind the fire, it's obvious isn't it. There has been a lot of talk about UFO's in the area recently! Probably as plausible as any of the other recent UFO stories...    Report

14/04/2009, 6:08 PM Sean Miller Joined on 02/10/2008 Weston-super-Mare Posts 838 Re: grand pier I heard a rumour that the aliens had been hiding in the roof area above the Dodgems... when the Michaels put in the Go Karting Track it upset them and they burned the pier down to try to get a bit of peace and quiet again... Through a contact in the Ministry of Alien Study I managed to get this exclusive holiday snap that was intercepted by satellite whilst being sent to the planet Zog last Easter Holiday, before the dodgy pier owners upset the Aliens... ...rumour is they're currently hiding out on Birnbeck... be afraid, be very afraid ;-) Sean    Report

14/04/2009, 6:16 PM Busman Joined on 15/03/2009 Posts 17 Re: grand pier  Flyer wrote: An electrical problem, detected by heat/smoke detectors in the early hours of that morning, and automatically relayed onto a manned reporting centre. Unfortunately, for reasons unbeknown, the Fire Brigade were not notified for approx 5 hours = total loss! I wish we had more information on this apparent error. Apparently a keyholder couldn't be reached/found - okay then, so call out the fire brigade! Not exactly rocket science is it? So why wasn't this done? Stupidity? Laziness? Something else?    Report

14/04/2009, 8:34 PM Sean Miller Joined on 02/10/2008 Weston-super-Mare Posts 838 Re: grand pier  Busman wrote:  Flyer wrote: An electrical problem, detected by heat/smoke detectors in the early hours of that morning, and automatically relayed onto a manned reporting centre. Unfortunately, for reasons unbeknown, the Fire Brigade were not notified for approx 5 hours = total loss! I wish we had more information on this apparent error. Apparently a keyholder couldn't be reached/found - okay then, so call out the fire brigade! Not exactly rocket science is it? So why wasn't this done? Stupidity? Laziness? Something else? Perhaps in the absence of any evidence that the fire was actually real (remember, neither smoke nor flames were seen until around 6.30am) the fire brigade would not have wanted to force entry into a building that might not actually have an issue at all? What I don't understand is how a fire could burn for SO long without any external indications that it was occurring.   Where did the smoke go? All sounds very fishy to me. Sean    Report

15/04/2009, 8:42 AM AllMouthNoTrousers Joined on 21/02/2008 Weston Posts 1,012 Re: grand pier  Sean Miller wrote: What I don't understand is how a fire could burn for SO long without any external indications that it was occurring.   Where did the smoke go? If it was an electrical fault, I'd guess it was smouldering for hours before it actually ignited - smoke would have been picked up by the detectors long before there were any actual flames.    Report

17/04/2009, 5:45 AM Sean Miller Joined on 02/10/2008 Weston-super-Mare Posts 838 Re: grand pier Good point! It's still remarkable, though, that the thing smouldered for so long without any external signs and then, when it did "break through to the surface" proceeded to demolish the pier in less than an hour. I can't get my head around what must have been going on inside the pavilion in the intervening hours.  Are we saying that if "the spark" had occured at 6am we'd have seen the same?  Or was there fire building within the pavilion, out of sight, as the night progressed? Sean    Report

17/04/2009, 12:38 PM Flyer Joined on 17/09/2008 Posts 741 Re: grand pier For a few years in the 1970's I was in the fire detection business. Fires can start off with heat, then a small trickle flame, which in a relatively closed environment can slowly spread, get worse, but can sometimes, extinguish itself. However, if a fire "breaks through" to the open atmosphere, it can increase like a blowlamp going off, and the building can be  lost in a very short time. I suspect that a small fire started inside the pier, spread inside over a period of time, then burned through an exterior wall or roof.  Once "break through" happened and a significant draught was created, all was lost. One thing I am surprised about is the actions of the alarm reporting centre. They are paid to relay a received alarm signal onto named persons to take appropriate action. If they were unable to make contact with these named persons, for whatever reason, I would have thought they would have contacted the local Fire Brigade/Police, explained the situation, and advise them of a possible fire, and could a passing Police patrol "take a look". We may never know what went on in the early hours of that morning!      Report

20/04/2009, 4:34 PM Anonymousness Joined on 16/12/2008 Posts 11 Re: grand pier Presumably the insurance company would want to be 100% sure about what went on in the early hours of that morning before paying out? As you say surely the alarm reporting centre should have contacted someone else/the fire department if the original contact was unavailable, but from the reports I've read there seems to be no mention of them attempting to do so.      Report

20/04/2009, 6:57 PM Busman Joined on 15/03/2009 Posts 17 Re: grand pier  Flyer wrote: One thing I am surprised about is the actions of the alarm reporting centre. They are paid to relay a received alarm signal onto named persons to take appropriate action. If they were unable to make contact with these named persons, for whatever reason, I would have thought they would have contacted the local Fire Brigade/Police, explained the situation, and advise them of a possible fire, and could a passing Police patrol "take a look".   EXACTLY! I'd love to know why this wasn't done. It just seems like the sensible route to take - heck, if a fire alarm goes off then it SHOULD be properly investigated, even if it turns out to be a dodgy alarm.    Report

25/04/2009, 12:35 PM Flyer Joined on 17/09/2008 Posts 741 Re: grand pier  Anonymousness wrote: Presumably the insurance company would want to be 100% sure about what went on in the early hours of that morning before paying out?    Who said the insurance company paid out ? When they discovered a five hour delay before the Fire Brigade turned up, this would have caused much eyebrow raising in the insurance company paying out department !  Insurance companies are specialists in avoiding payouts. They could have said, "shame about the fire, but in the circumstances, all bets off !!"     Report

25/04/2009, 4:00 PM Busman Joined on 15/03/2009 Posts 17 Re: grand pier Indeed. I wonder if the truth will ever be told?    Report

05/05/2009, 12:41 PM Anonymousness Joined on 16/12/2008 Posts 11 Re: grand pier Can anyone at the Mercury shed any light on this? It seems such a major aspect of the whole Pier fire story, yet I can't find anything in any of the subsequent reports which adequately explains the five hour delay? Surely someone must have asked the questions?      Report

07/05/2009, 3:12 PM Simon Angear Joined on 08/05/2008 Mercury newsroom Posts 236 Re: grand pier  Anonymousness wrote: Can anyone at the Mercury shed any light on this? It seems such a major aspect of the whole Pier fire story, yet I can't find anything in any of the subsequent reports which adequately explains the five hour delay? Surely someone must have asked the questions? As we understand it, investigations along this particular line of inquiry are still ongoing. Once concluded, we will of course be looking to report on the findings. Mercury Content Editor    Report

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