Valued MemberA major fire has broken out in an iconic hotel in the Cornwall seaside resort of Falmouth.
The fire started at the popular Falmouth Beach Hotel, operated by Best Western, in the Gyllyngvase area, around noon today.
The roof of the hotel has now collapsed, amid fears the building may be totally destroyed. Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said ten crews were currently tackling the blaze.
A spokesman said: All persons have been accounted for - staff and guests from both the Falmouth Beach Hotel and neighbouring St Michael's Hotel have been evacuated.
Strong winds were reported to be hindering efforts to douse the flames.
Sean White, 28, and owner of the nearby Wesup Paddleboard Centre, which caters for many guests staying at the hotel, told Yahoo! News, It's such a shame as it's a lovely hotel with a beautiful spa. It's really well loved by locals and obviously tourists.
Luckily a coachload of guests left an hour before the fire broke out so there weren't as many people affected as there might have been.
The fire started at the popular Falmouth Beach Hotel, operated by Best Western, in the Gyllyngvase area, around noon today.
The roof of the hotel has now collapsed, amid fears the building may be totally destroyed. Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said ten crews were currently tackling the blaze.
A spokesman said: All persons have been accounted for - staff and guests from both the Falmouth Beach Hotel and neighbouring St Michael's Hotel have been evacuated.
Strong winds were reported to be hindering efforts to douse the flames.
Sean White, 28, and owner of the nearby Wesup Paddleboard Centre, which caters for many guests staying at the hotel, told Yahoo! News, It's such a shame as it's a lovely hotel with a beautiful spa. It's really well loved by locals and obviously tourists.
The remaining guests are currently being looked after at the neighbouring Gylly Cafe on the seafront.
The mayor of Falmouth, Geoffrey Evans, told BBC News that the fire couldn't have happened at a worse time.
It's right at the start of the holiday season, we've got the Olympic Torch coming in a few weeks, and the Finn Cup (sailing competition) as well, so I don't know how this is going to affect accommodation, he said.
I think the hotel was fully booked, so to lose such a prominent hotel at this time of the year is a complete disaster. The smoke's going right through the town and the fire has spread and completely gutted one side of the hotel.
Blur guitarist Graham Coxon had been staying at the hotel prior to a solo gig in Falmouth this evening and has told of his sadness as the fire intensified.
We have rooms at the beach hotel and had to leave when the smell of smoke for a little much [sic], he posted on Twitter. We watched it... We had to leave the foyer and then watch it get worse and worse..rather sad.
Many took to others took to the social networking site to express their sadness.
Kirsty Dalton tweeted: Smokey skies and circling helicopter, such a shame about falmouth beach hotel!
Another user wrote: So sad to see the loss of the falmouth beach hotel, such a lovely place, thoughts are with you.
Article: http://uk.news.yahoo...p-in-smoke.html
The fire started at the popular Falmouth Beach Hotel, operated by Best Western, in the Gyllyngvase area, around noon today.
The roof of the hotel has now collapsed, amid fears the building may be totally destroyed. Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said ten crews were currently tackling the blaze.
A spokesman said: All persons have been accounted for - staff and guests from both the Falmouth Beach Hotel and neighbouring St Michael's Hotel have been evacuated.
Strong winds were reported to be hindering efforts to douse the flames.
Sean White, 28, and owner of the nearby Wesup Paddleboard Centre, which caters for many guests staying at the hotel, told Yahoo! News, It's such a shame as it's a lovely hotel with a beautiful spa. It's really well loved by locals and obviously tourists.
Luckily a coachload of guests left an hour before the fire broke out so there weren't as many people affected as there might have been.
The fire started at the popular Falmouth Beach Hotel, operated by Best Western, in the Gyllyngvase area, around noon today.
The roof of the hotel has now collapsed, amid fears the building may be totally destroyed. Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said ten crews were currently tackling the blaze.
A spokesman said: All persons have been accounted for - staff and guests from both the Falmouth Beach Hotel and neighbouring St Michael's Hotel have been evacuated.
Strong winds were reported to be hindering efforts to douse the flames.
Sean White, 28, and owner of the nearby Wesup Paddleboard Centre, which caters for many guests staying at the hotel, told Yahoo! News, It's such a shame as it's a lovely hotel with a beautiful spa. It's really well loved by locals and obviously tourists.
The remaining guests are currently being looked after at the neighbouring Gylly Cafe on the seafront.
The mayor of Falmouth, Geoffrey Evans, told BBC News that the fire couldn't have happened at a worse time.
It's right at the start of the holiday season, we've got the Olympic Torch coming in a few weeks, and the Finn Cup (sailing competition) as well, so I don't know how this is going to affect accommodation, he said.
I think the hotel was fully booked, so to lose such a prominent hotel at this time of the year is a complete disaster. The smoke's going right through the town and the fire has spread and completely gutted one side of the hotel.
Blur guitarist Graham Coxon had been staying at the hotel prior to a solo gig in Falmouth this evening and has told of his sadness as the fire intensified.
We have rooms at the beach hotel and had to leave when the smell of smoke for a little much [sic], he posted on Twitter. We watched it... We had to leave the foyer and then watch it get worse and worse..rather sad.
Many took to others took to the social networking site to express their sadness.
Kirsty Dalton tweeted: Smokey skies and circling helicopter, such a shame about falmouth beach hotel!
Another user wrote: So sad to see the loss of the falmouth beach hotel, such a lovely place, thoughts are with you.
Article: http://uk.news.yahoo...p-in-smoke.html
