Clean-up operations are under way this morning after a major fire tore through the former Balmoral Hotel in Bridlington, sending flames through the roof and triggering a major overnight emergency response.
See dramatic video on the Echo Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1aqDvna4mr/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Firefighters were called to the disused 34-bedroom hotel on Fort Terrace at around 11pm on Monday, April 28, after reports of a serious blaze at the long-closed seafront building.
Multiple crews from Bridlington and across the Humberside region rushed to the scene as flames ripped through the upper floors of the former town centre hotel, which shut its doors in 2019 and has stood empty for years.
Dramatic scenes unfolded overnight as firefighters used a telescopic ladder to attack the blaze from above while thick smoke poured out of the building and flames leapt through the roof.
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service remained at the scene into Wednesday morning, April 29, with an incident command unit still in place as crews continued damping down and assessing the scale of the damage.
Residents living near the fire were told to keep windows and doors shut because of heavy smoke, while members of the public were urged to avoid the area.
Humberside Police confirmed that Promenade in Bridlington was closed to traffic and pedestrians from 7.45am on Tuesday until further notice as emergency services continued to deal with the aftermath.
It is understood several families were evacuated overnight as a precaution.
The former Balmoral has been the scene of serious concern before. In the early hours of November 30 last year, cannabis worth an estimated £110,000 was seized after another fire broke out at the same property.
That incident raised fresh questions over the abandoned building, which has become a repeated focus for volunteer groups cleaning up the outside of the building since its closure.
Despite the scale of last night’s blaze, no casualties have been reported and there is no indication the building was occupied at the time of the fire.
The cause of the latest fire has not yet been confirmed. Fire investigators remain at the scene and an examination of the building is ongoing.
