COUNCIL bosses and a business are counting the cost after fire ravaged a historic landmark.
The Mount on the seafront suffered a major fire in the early hours yesterday – apparently after a firework was pushed through a window.
Owner Wyre Council is still assessing the extent of the damage – but the flag firm which operates from the 105-year-old listed building is already counting the cost.
Proud to be British has been brought to a standstill with the destruction of around £15,000 of stock and damage to offices.
"It's completely wiped everything out," said Jim Elliot, a director of the company, which sells flags all over the world – largely through the internet.
"The stock we had on the ground floor has been completely destroyed.
"Upstairs in the office we are hoping it's just smoke damage. We hope we can get the hard drives out of the computers and carry on.
"It's quite frustrating because we are an internet-based company and unless we can get something on the website, people will still carry on ordering.
"We have orders coming in we can't fulfil – that's the most pressing problem we have.
"We usually get about 200 orders a week ranging from a single flag to hundreds of pounds worth of stock.
Shutter
"The only crumb of comfort is that this is a quieter time – it isn't the middle of the World Cup.
"But we need to be up and running in time for Christmas."
The company also employs two office staff and fellow director, Adrian Waistle. They are urgently looking for temporary premises they can rent until Wyre Borough can effect repairs.
It is believed the fire was started by a firework after someone forced up a steel shutter and then smashed a window.
Firefighters were driving past the Mount Grounds on The Esplanade on their way to another incident when they noticed smoke coming from the pavilion.
Heavy smoke damage also affected the first-floor clock room.
A spokesman for the council said: "It appears some firework tubes were fastened to a railing and pointed at the clock tower.
"But it seems as though the fire was started after someone forced open a security shutter and broke a window on the town side of the pavilion."
At the nearby Marine Hall, a group of youths had set off fireworks which broke a window near the main entrance.
The pavilion was built in 1902 and replaced an earlier structure which looked like a Chinese pagoda. In 1919, the clock was installed as a memorial to Fleetwood residents lost in the Second World War. It was the gift of businessman Isaac Spencer, who owned a dockland factory.
Owner Wyre Council is still assessing the extent of the damage – but the flag firm which operates from the 105-year-old listed building is already counting the cost.
Proud to be British has been brought to a standstill with the destruction of around £15,000 of stock and damage to offices.
"It's completely wiped everything out," said Jim Elliot, a director of the company, which sells flags all over the world – largely through the internet.
"The stock we had on the ground floor has been completely destroyed.
"Upstairs in the office we are hoping it's just smoke damage. We hope we can get the hard drives out of the computers and carry on.
"It's quite frustrating because we are an internet-based company and unless we can get something on the website, people will still carry on ordering.
"We have orders coming in we can't fulfil – that's the most pressing problem we have.
"We usually get about 200 orders a week ranging from a single flag to hundreds of pounds worth of stock.
Shutter
"The only crumb of comfort is that this is a quieter time – it isn't the middle of the World Cup.
"But we need to be up and running in time for Christmas."
The company also employs two office staff and fellow director, Adrian Waistle. They are urgently looking for temporary premises they can rent until Wyre Borough can effect repairs.
It is believed the fire was started by a firework after someone forced up a steel shutter and then smashed a window.
Firefighters were driving past the Mount Grounds on The Esplanade on their way to another incident when they noticed smoke coming from the pavilion.
Heavy smoke damage also affected the first-floor clock room.
A spokesman for the council said: "It appears some firework tubes were fastened to a railing and pointed at the clock tower.
"But it seems as though the fire was started after someone forced open a security shutter and broke a window on the town side of the pavilion."
At the nearby Marine Hall, a group of youths had set off fireworks which broke a window near the main entrance.
The pavilion was built in 1902 and replaced an earlier structure which looked like a Chinese pagoda. In 1919, the clock was installed as a memorial to Fleetwood residents lost in the Second World War. It was the gift of businessman Isaac Spencer, who owned a dockland factory.
- Published Date: 07 November 2007
- Source: Blackpool Gazette
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