# Weston-Super-Mare pier burns down, gets rebuilt



## Geri (Jul 28, 2008)

It's really bad as well


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## danny la rouge (Jul 28, 2008)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7528165.stm



> Avon Fire and Rescue Service said six engines were at the scene and described the incident as a "large fire".


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## Geri (Jul 28, 2008)

It looks as if it will be totally destroyed. I hope their insurance is adequate!


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## Kanda (Jul 28, 2008)

Geri said:


> It looks as if it will be totally destroyed. I hope their insurance is adequate!



Can you see it? Any pics/video?


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## Geri (Jul 28, 2008)

Kanda said:


> Can you see it? Any pics/video?



I can't see it from here, I'm in Bristol!  Although they are saying that the smoke is visible from 20 miles away.


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## Kanda (Jul 28, 2008)

Only sold in Feb: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7232178.stm

Conspiracy!!!


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## Geri (Jul 28, 2008)

It's being renovated so I suspect someone left something smouldering when they went home.


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## butterfly child (Jul 28, 2008)

Apparently it re-opened two weeks ago, following it's renovation.

It's really sad - it's a fantastic pier, and such a good draw for the town. I have lots of happy memories of spending time on it. 

I'd have to go down to the seafront if I lived there, although they are appealing for people to stay away.


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## longdog (Jul 28, 2008)

I used to stay in W.S.M regularly and apart from getting pissed there was nothing else to do but go on the pier. 

In the mid-eighties they had a load of bandits which only took pre-decimal two pence pieces which you could get from the change booth. You never won more than 20p but a couple of quid's worth of coins could keep you entertained for hours 

It'll be a real shame to lose it, there's not many good piers left as it is


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## tom_craggs (Jul 28, 2008)

*Western-super-Mare Pier Burns Down*

Western-super-Mare Pier one the last great pleasure piers to be built is on fire - looks like its all going to go as the fire is huge!

Have many happy memories from here when I was very young. My car is broken so I can't get any pictures of my own but apparantly you can see the fire from over 20 miles away.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7528165.stm


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## Tank Girl (Jul 28, 2008)

how sad  I used to go to WSM for my holidays when I was little with my nan and grandad and the best bit was always going on the pier.


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## STFC (Jul 28, 2008)

A real shame that. I spent a lot of time in Weston as a youngster and used to love going on the pier. I remember when they used to charge you to go on, and how excited we were when it became free.


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## djbombscare (Jul 28, 2008)

*Weston Pier. .*

I expect there'll be threads in general but as its ours. . .

I see Weston's Pier is on fire then.

we were only there yesterday and its the only bit of the seafront that wasn't boarded up and cut off for redevelopment work. 

Geuss it is now 

It was a bit rubbish and I have no idea how it was worth 37 million but hey. . 


So the obligatory link http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK...=GALLERY_15057868_Weston+Super+Mare+Pier+Fire


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## djbombscare (Jul 28, 2008)

I got a pic of the smoke on me phone from the A38 which I'll put up laters if I can


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## butterfly child (Jul 28, 2008)

They've got live pics on the BBC at the moment.. it's all gone - none of the building left.

So sad


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## Geri (Jul 28, 2008)

I expect the Welsh are looking at it now! Stop looking, it's ours!


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## butterfly child (Jul 28, 2008)

longdog said:


> I used to stay in W.S.M regularly and apart from getting pissed there was nothing else to do but go on the pier.
> 
> *In the mid-eighties they had a load of bandits which only took pre-decimal two pence pieces which you could get from the change booth. You never won more than 20p but a couple of quid's worth of coins could keep you entertained for hours*
> 
> It'll be a real shame to lose it, there's not many good piers left as it is



The 2p machines are the only machines I'll play at amusement arcades. You don't win much, but when you've played for half an hour and it's cost a quid, you do feel like you've had fun. 

I'm not a great gambler, to be fair!


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## Geri (Jul 28, 2008)

I remember going on the Ghost Train - my God, that was scary! 

I also used to love the little train that drove up and down.


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## cesare (Jul 28, 2008)

butterfly child said:


> They've got live pics on the BBC at the moment.. it's all gone - none of the building left.
> 
> So sad


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## butterfly child (Jul 28, 2008)

I had an American penfriend, back in the 90's, and went to WsM with him when he came to the UK.. he loved the pier..


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## Geri (Jul 28, 2008)

I remember going down there when I was about 15 or so, and there was a bloke working on the trains who looked like Elvis. He sang "Can't help falling in love" to me and I practically melted.


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## longdog (Jul 28, 2008)

butterfly child said:


> The 2p machines are the only machines I'll play at amusement arcades. You don't win much, but when you've played for half an hour and it's cost a quid, you do feel like you've had fun.
> 
> I'm not a great gambler, to be fair!



No, me either, I'm positively presbyterian about gambling. It's a mug's game so if you're going to lose, and you will, you may as well have fun and keep most of your money in your pocket


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## butterfly child (Jul 28, 2008)

longdog said:


> No, me either, I'm positively presbyterian about gambling. It's a mug's game so if you're going to lose, and you will, you may as well have fun and keep most of your money in your pocket



I can't bear the thought of losing any amount of money really.. 

I bought a few lottery scratchcards when they first came out - probably about twenty, over a period of time - the first time I won any money (£250) on them, I stopped buying them. Haven't bought a scratchcard since winning that money.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Jul 28, 2008)

Shame about the Pier, but it's not just the Pier that'll be affected.  Would imagine it's going to be a bit dangerous to swim around there for a while


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## Ranbay (Jul 28, 2008)

can see it from Cardiff... well the smoke anyway


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## butterfly child (Jul 28, 2008)

B0B2oo9 said:


> can see it from Cardiff... well the smoke anyway



And Taunton, apparently, 60 miles away..


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## editor (Jul 28, 2008)

That really, really sucks. It's not owned by the same bloke who seems to have such _terrible _problems with his piers mysteriously burning down is it?


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## editor (Jul 28, 2008)

> It was owned by the Brenner family for three generations and had only changed hands three times since it opened in 1904.
> 
> Earlier this year, it was sold in a multi-million pound deal to brother and sister Michelle and Kerry Michael.
> 
> ...


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## zenie (Jul 28, 2008)

something always smells fishy when these piers set on fire.


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## Kanda (Jul 28, 2008)

The fish and chip stall going up in smoke probably.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Jul 28, 2008)

zenie said:


> something always smells fishy when these piers set on fire.





What, like a cigarette butt?


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## spudulike (Jul 28, 2008)

Well, that's three out of four beach attractions gone.

Knightstone Pier - derelict for years
Tropicana - ditto
Weston Pier - now burnt down

So there's now just the Sea Life Centre which holds around 100 people at a time.


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## Awesome Wells (Jul 28, 2008)

I live 8 miles away; can't see anything.


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## Kanda (Jul 28, 2008)

Awesome Wells said:


> I live 8 miles away; can't see anything.



Try going outside and looking in the right direction?


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## Awesome Wells (Jul 28, 2008)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> Shame about the Pier, but it's not just the Pier that'll be affected.  Would imagine it's going to be a bit dangerous to swim around there for a while


Not to be facetious, but i wouldn't swim in that muck regardless. That water is estuary mud and filth.


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## Awesome Wells (Jul 28, 2008)

Kanda said:


> Try going outside and looking in the right direction?


Well I can see weston from my house, just no smoke. Perhaps they bought it under control.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Jul 28, 2008)

Awesome Wells said:


> Not to be facetious, but i wouldn't swim in that muck regardless. That water is estuary mud and filth.




Yeah, pretty much like Southend's.  After the fire in 1976 you couldn't swim in the sea for weeks after in case you got whacked by a floorboard from the Pier


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Jul 28, 2008)

Awesome Wells said:


> Well I can see weston from my house, just no smoke. Perhaps they bought it under control.



Latest pictures from BBC showed it pretty much burnt to a crisp and not much smoke


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## claphamboy (Jul 28, 2008)

How sad, another pier gone.


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## STFC (Jul 28, 2008)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> Shame about the Pier, but it's not just the Pier that'll be affected.  Would imagine it's going to be a bit dangerous to swim around there for a while



It's always been dangerous to swim in the sea at Weston!


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## Crispy (Jul 28, 2008)

threads merged

really sad this. I had no idea the tropicana was closed too! I have fond memories of both


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## claphamboy (Jul 28, 2008)

According to the radio report it basically disappeared in just an hour!


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## Kanda (Jul 28, 2008)

That quick??!! Thanks fuck it wasn't open at the time!!


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## Geri (Jul 28, 2008)

claphamboy said:


> According to the radio report it basically disappeared in just an hour!



Pretty much, I was watching more or less from start to finish.


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## bluestreak (Jul 28, 2008)

zenie said:


> something always smells fishy when these piers set on fire.


 


Kanda said:


> The fish and chip stall going up in smoke probably.


 
lols etc.

Damn shame, I love a nice pier even more than I love a good fire.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Jul 28, 2008)

Kanda said:


> That quick??!! Thanks fuck it wasn't open at the time!!


 

but if people had to jump, would they have just landed in mud?


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## untethered (Jul 28, 2008)

Something doesn't quite add up here in the official story.

The nearest fire station is only 1.2 miles away, yet the fire engines took 45 minutes to arrive. This seems to contradict the chief fire officer's account that they were there within "two shakes" of the original 999 call.

Even more mysterious is the fact that the police, fire brigade and coastguard were taking part in an emergency simulation exercise for just this kind of event when the tragedy occurred.

Now it may be that the whole thing was an inside job, planned down to the last detail to look "authentic". More likely, perhaps, that the police uncovered the plot during the planning stages and stood back to let it happen.

Either way, there's a lot more to this than meets the eye. 

We have a right to know the truth.


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## _angel_ (Jul 28, 2008)

Crispy said:


> threads merged
> 
> really sad this. I had no idea the tropicana was closed too! I have fond memories of both



It hasn't been there for donkey's years. I took my son a few years ago, with the intention of going there, it had gone. 

Remember being laughed at by my posh classmates for raving about going to 'Weston Supermare' one summer.


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## Awesome Wells (Jul 28, 2008)

Who says it took 45 minutes to arrive? There's no way it would take that long.


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## Awesome Wells (Jul 28, 2008)

_angel_ said:


> It hasn't been there for donkey's years. I took my son a few years ago, with the intention of going there, it had gone.
> 
> Remember being laughed at by my posh classmates for raving about going to 'Weston Supermare' one summer.



Not to be tactless but it is a shithole. I'm not happy about great big burning things (unless they contain Edward Woodward), but the Pier is a joke, though popular.


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## doctor_strange (Jul 28, 2008)

untethered said:


> Something doesn't quite add up here in the official story.
> We have a right to know the truth.



Quickest conspiracy theory ever?


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## doctor_strange (Jul 28, 2008)

Sign me up as a WSM Troofer!


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## Crispy (Jul 28, 2008)

Pfft. As a child, I thought it was awesome, especially all the classic arcade machines for 10p.


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## untethered (Jul 28, 2008)

Crispy said:


> Pfft. As a child, I thought it was awesome, especially all the classic arcade machines for 10p.



You'll be able to get them for 5p now.


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## claphamboy (Jul 28, 2008)

Kanda said:


> The fish and chip stall going up in smoke probably.



They have just said on the radio that deep fat fryers were in the area where they think the fire started.


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## Awesome Wells (Jul 28, 2008)

Where in the pier doesn't have a deep fat fryer. That place has more grease and chip fat per square inch than the entirety of Glasgow.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Jul 28, 2008)

claphamboy said:


> They have just said on the radio that deep fat fryers were in the area where they think the fire started.


 

Are people eating fish and chips that early in the morning?


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## butchersapron (Jul 28, 2008)

The tropicana has only been shut down for about 7-8 years. I was the first perosn in weston in there. Our primary school was practically opposite it and they let us in for asplash about pre-official opening. I was changed second then knocked over danny murphy just before he reachd the water. Victory was mine.


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## Crispy (Jul 28, 2008)

butchers new tagline "first in the tropicana" - I'd be proud of such an honour myself.


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## claphamboy (Jul 28, 2008)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> Are people eating fish and chips that early in the morning?



Maybe one had been left on over night.


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## tom_craggs (Jul 28, 2008)

butchersapron said:


> The tropicana has only been shut down for about 7-8 years. I was the first perosn in weston in there. Our primary school was practically opposite it and they let us in for asplash about pre-official opening. I was changed second then knocked over danny murphy just before he reachd the water. Victory was mine.



I have vivid memeries of the Tropicana when I was a kid, ahtough my primary school was in Burnham so I guess I was an outsider. 

This was my last view of it;


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## marty21 (Jul 28, 2008)

that's sad, i went there as a kid as well, it was the nearest seaside place to bath


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## Geri (Jul 28, 2008)

marty21 said:


> that's sad, i went there as a kid as well, it was the nearest seaside place to bath



It's not the sea!!

*hides from butchers*


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Jul 28, 2008)

claphamboy said:


> Maybe one had been left on over night.


 

maybe the owners assumed their kitchen was hot because of the heat outside rather than the fryer


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## marty21 (Jul 28, 2008)

Geri said:


> It's not the sea!!
> 
> *hides from butchers*



well it felt like the seaside and that - and i was very young, and didn't know my bristol channel from my english channel


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## DRINK? (Jul 28, 2008)

Why are piers always made of wood??? They are always burning down....I know metal rusts though what do they make oil rigs out of?


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## butchersapron (Jul 28, 2008)

The pier itself is made of metal. The stuff that sits on top was largely made of wood.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Jul 28, 2008)

DRINK? said:


> Why are piers always made of wood??? They are always burning down....I know metal rusts though what do they make oil rigs out of?


 

The floorboards etc. would be wood


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## marty21 (Jul 28, 2008)

plus - walking bare foot on wood in hot weather = ok
walking bare foot on metal on hot day =


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## untethered (Jul 28, 2008)

butchersapron said:


> The pier itself is made of metal. The stuff that sits on top was largely made of wood.



What's odd, though, is that if you look at the photographs the colour of the flames is really too light for that just to be wood burning. That would suggest the presence of some other kind of material.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Jul 28, 2008)

marty21 said:


> plus - walking bare foot on wood in hot weather = ok
> walking bare foot on metal on hot day =


 

and metal = a lot more slippery than wood


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Jul 28, 2008)

untethered said:


> What's odd, though, is that if you look at the photographs the colour of the flames is really too light for that just to be wood burning. That would suggest the presence of some other kind of material.


 

oil for the fryer?


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## marty21 (Jul 28, 2008)

butchersapron said:


> The tropicana has only been shut down for about 7-8 years. I was the first perosn in weston in there. Our primary school was practically opposite it and they let us in for asplash about pre-official opening. I was changed second then knocked over danny murphy just before he reachd the water. Victory was mine.



poor murphy, his chance of greatness snatched from his grasp


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## _angel_ (Jul 28, 2008)

Awesome Wells said:


> Not to be tactless but it is a shithole. I'm not happy about great big burning things (unless they contain Edward Woodward), but the Pier is a joke, though popular.



Sadly, when I went back (minus tropicana) I was forced to agree.


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## untethered (Jul 28, 2008)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> oil for the fryer?



According to my preliminary calculations you'd need about four swimming pools' worth of cooking oil to account for the effects we've seen.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Jul 28, 2008)

untethered said:


> According to my preliminary calculations you'd need about four swimming pools' worth of cooking oil to account for the effects we've seen.


 

what about metal and plastic?


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## Roadkill (Jul 28, 2008)

untethered said:


> According to my preliminary calculations you'd need about four swimming pools' worth of cooking oil to account for the effects we've seen.



All of the contents of the buildings will have gone up - carpets, furnishings, electrical equipment, anything stored on the premises and so on.  Then there's the wood itself.  Much of it is likely to be pretty old and impregnated with decades' worth of accumulated paint, varnish, creosote and other assorted preservatives.  I imagine that little lot will account for some of the effects...


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## Awesome Wells (Jul 28, 2008)

untethered said:


> According to my preliminary calculations you'd need about four swimming pools' worth of cooking oil to account for the effects we've seen.


And exploding arcade machines: no one wants to die by being slotted with a molten two pence piece from the cakewalk machines!


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## Hocus Eye. (Jul 28, 2008)

I remember when Torquay pier was burnt down.  It was in the process of being re-furbished and I understand it was accidentally set on fire by a workman's blowlamp.  Afterwards there was not enough money to re-build it so they just replaced the floor boards and put a long line of sheltered seats up the middle.  It is fine if you just want a long walk on a long pier but that brings in no revenue.  In that same part of the coast is Paignton pier which has been refurbished in the last few years using aluminium panels rather than wood.  I suppose it is safer provided nobody fires an exocet missile at it.

You would think that piers being rather closer to the sea than anything other than a boat would have ready access to vast quantities of water for putting out fires.  A series of pipes running the length of the pier could have electric pumps driven by rechargeable batteries sucking up water from a filtered pickup place under the pier and spraying the water over the pier triggered by a fire detector.

I like piers and am always saddened by the loss of one.  I remember the Brighton  Pier burning down at a time when it was rumoured to be going to have a renovation and then turned into a restaurant.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Jul 28, 2008)

Hocus Eye. said:


> You would think that piers being rather closer to the sea than anything other than a boat would have ready access to vast quantities of water for putting out fires. A series of pipes running the length of the pier could have electric pumps driven by rechargeable batteries sucking up water from a filtered pickup place under the pier and spraying the water over the pier triggered by a fire detector.


 

When Southend Pier burnt down, they dropped water from the air as the tide was out


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## corporate whore (Jul 28, 2008)

Hocus Eye. said:


> You would think that piers being rather closer to the sea than anything other than a boat would have ready access to vast quantities of water for putting out fires. A series of pipes running the length of the pier could have electric pumps driven by rechargeable batteries sucking up water from a filtered pickup place under the pier and spraying the water over the pier triggered by a fire detector.


 
Ah, but the tide goes out much, much further at W-s-M than anyone could possibly imagine






Poor Weston. Not been there in years. No pier, no Tropicana, no nothing.

((((Weston))))


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## Geri (Jul 28, 2008)

untethered said:


> What's odd, though, is that if you look at the photographs the colour of the flames is really too light for that just to be wood burning. That would suggest the presence of some other kind of material.



There were loads of gas canisters inside as well.


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## steveo87 (Jul 28, 2008)

I live not far (within a couple of streets) from it and a it looks horedouse but apparently the origianl design had a thick steel platform under the wooden planks so that it would spread to the struts holding it and basically destroy the pier (similar to the Burnbeck pier just down the road) which means as long as the danamege isn't too bad on the struts and the steel platfrom it sohlud be relativly easy to build a new one...


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## Gerry1time (Jul 28, 2008)

corporate whore said:


> Poor Weston. Not been there in years. No pier, no Tropicana, no nothing.



Nothing?


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## Awesome Wells (Jul 28, 2008)

corporate whore said:


> Ah, but the tide goes out much, much further at W-s-M than anyone could possibly imagine
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's not true, you can pay some gypos to ride on their mistreated donkeys, sunbathe on the beach amid the turds, join the boy racer chorus around the seafront, or get in a fight in a nightclub before fading into obscuirty amid tatty posters for Jim Davidson's comedy tour at the playhouse. Or watch a fake band pretend to be Queen.


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## untethered (Jul 28, 2008)

Gerry1time said:


> Nothing?



That's a worthless peer, not a worthless pier.


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## claphamboy (Jul 28, 2008)

untethered said:


> That's a worthless peer, not a worthless pier.



lol


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## fizzerbird (Jul 28, 2008)

Bombscare and I were on the pier eating a chip supper at 8'0clock last night...we just decided to drive out. have munchies and watch the sun go down.

I'm so glad we did. I can't believe it's gone. Gutted


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## fizzerbird (Jul 28, 2008)

Babe!

Just spotted this thread hon...already posted on Geri's!

I'm soooo glad we decided to go there last night, can't quite believe we were there and then this morning it's no longer. How feking freaky is that!

I almost couldn't be arsed to go but went anyway. It's like I was given a chance to say goodbye to an old friend from my childhood and that of my sons childhood. Pity my grandchildren won't see it.


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## breasticles (Jul 28, 2008)

Awesome Wells said:


> That's not true, you can pay some gypos to ride on their mistreated donkeys, sunbathe on the beach amid the turds, join the boy racer chorus around the seafront, or get in a fight in a nightclub before fading into obscuirty amid tatty posters for Jim Davidson's comedy tour at the playhouse. Or watch a fake band pretend to be Queen.



or you can buy a ticket to go and see the glenn miller orchestra. doesn't matter what time of year you go to weston, the glenn miller orchestra will be playing the weekend afterwards. FACT.

i was in weston yesterday, people watching and paddling and swooning in the sun. i was also there this morning- my hostess came in at 8am and said 'the pier's on fire, i'm going to have a look, you coming?'. i was knackered after a rubbish night's sleep so i declined. i'm only a latecomer to the region so while it's very sad to see it go, i don't have the same emotional ties to the pier as she did, and i think i would have felt like a spare part.

re: the 28/7 conspiracy theories- my friend did say that there was molten metal running off from the flames into the sea... was that melting two pence pieces from the arcade, or something more sinister? _thermites?_ *i don't have any answers, but someone's got to ask the questions...*


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Jul 28, 2008)

breasticles said:


> or you can buy a ticket to go and see the glenn miller orchestra. doesn't matter what time of year you go to weston, the glenn miller orchestra will be playing the weekend afterwards. FACT.


 

Yeah, but Glenn Miller's dead and how many of the orchestra are originals?


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## breasticles (Jul 28, 2008)

its four old geezers, a load of automated mannequins with bassoons, and a cd player. fuck only knows how they get away with it.


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## keybored (Jul 28, 2008)

fizzerbird said:


> ...can't quite believe we were there and then this morning it's no longer.


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## cesare (Jul 28, 2008)

keypulse said:


>


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## Crispy (Jul 28, 2008)

_so_ merged


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## High Voltage (Jul 28, 2008)

Geri said:


> It looks as if it will be totally destroyed. I hope their insurance is adequate!



Seeing as how Kerry Michaels is one of the owners (he of Regency Insurance fame) I'd bloody well hope his insurance is "adequate"

He made a fortune from the sale of Regency some years ago and I think as a result is in the top 150 wealthy in the UK.


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## High Voltage (Jul 28, 2008)

fizzerbird said:


> Bombscare and I were on the pier eating a . . . . chip supper  . . ..  8 0'clock last night . . . we just decided to drive off.



Ladies and gentlemen of the jury . . . GUILTY . . .  from her own mouth . . .


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## Sweaty Betty (Jul 28, 2008)

Crispy said:


> threads merged
> 
> really sad this. I had no idea the tropicana was closed too! I have fond memories of both



Oh and me, used to stay in WSM alot as a nipper, actually i stayed at a lovely B&B always,on the hill past the fountain....uh mrs westcombe was her name....

gutted about the pier.....


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## rollinder (Jul 28, 2008)

Awesome Wells said:


> That's not true, you can pay some gypos to ride on their mistreated donkeys, sunbathe on the beach amid the turds, join the boy racer chorus around the seafront, or get in a fight in a nightclub before fading into obscuirty amid tatty posters for Jim Davidson's comedy tour at the playhouse. Or watch a fake band pretend to be Queen.


 
This is making me much more enthusiastic about being dragged back there on holiday


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## fizzerbird (Jul 29, 2008)

High Voltage said:


> Ladies and gentlemen of the jury . . . GUILTY . . .  from her own mouth . . .


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## claphamboy (Jul 29, 2008)

High Voltage said:


> Ladies and gentlemen of the jury . . . GUILTY . . .  from her own mouth . . .


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## djbombscare (Jul 29, 2008)

High Voltage said:


> Ladies and gentlemen of the jury . . . GUILTY . . .  from her own mouth . . .




if it was,her drive for perfection and meticulour attention to detail would have meant it would have looked like this. . .







oh hang on it did. . .

er. . .


We was at home with the missus guv


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## Isambard (Jul 30, 2008)

The BBC Somerset website had a major story for a change instead of the Burnham lifeboat being scrambled to save a trapped swan or something.

In a sad way I thought it was quite cool how Weston topped the news headlines and the Independent and Guardana had it as a political cartoon the next day.


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## Geri (Jul 31, 2008)

Isambard said:


> The BBC Somerset website had a major story for a change instead of the Burnham lifeboat being scrambled to save a trapped swan or something.



The lifeguard got called out by some tourists because my nephew and his friends were jumping off some cliffs into the sea.


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## big eejit (Jul 31, 2008)

The view from the M5. I thought a dormant volcano had erupted:


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## Isambard (Aug 2, 2008)

When we were kids we always thought brent Knoll was a volcano.


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## strung out (Jan 29, 2010)

the rebuild is well underway! and looking quite good

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/home...rand-Pier/article-1771011-detail/article.html


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## William of Walworth (Jan 29, 2010)

Good pix and interesting article -- looks like the owners are focussing completely on installing slot games and fairground rides but I guess they have little choice commercially?


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## editor (Jan 29, 2010)

Phew! I saw the thread and thought it had caught fire again.

Great to see the pier rising again.


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## Riklet (Jan 29, 2010)

Shame the rest of Weston hasn't burnt down, oh well, there's still hope, and plenty of this year left....


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## fizzerbird (Jan 29, 2010)

editor said:


> Phew! I saw the thread and thought it had caught fire again.
> 
> Great to see the pier rising again.



so did I!!


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## Gerry1time (Jan 29, 2010)

There's a webcam of it too - http://www.grandpierwsm.co.uk/grand_pier_webcam.asp


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## Skin (Jan 29, 2010)

So it's not on fire?
I'm confused.
Got quite a shock there
I even looked at BBC NEWS site.
*wibble*


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## Crispy (Jan 29, 2010)

title edited to calm beating hearts


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## butchersapron (Jan 29, 2010)

William of Walworth said:


> Good pix and interesting article -- looks like the owners are focussing completely on installing slot games and fairground rides but I guess they have little choice commercially?



That's all it ever was to be fair.


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## strung out (Oct 6, 2010)

reopening at the end of the month!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/bristol/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_9067000/9067827.stm


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## Hollis (Oct 6, 2010)

They'll never keep Weston down.. like the Phoenix.. rising from the ashes.. The Luftwaffe couldn't beat it, and neither shall the fire.


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## pseudonarcissus (Oct 6, 2010)

I here the contractors have another job lines up


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## butchersapron (Dec 30, 2015)

The other pier in weston - Birnbeck pier - has just partially collapsed:


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## laptop (Dec 30, 2015)




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## editor (Dec 30, 2015)

butchersapron said:


> The other pier in weston - Birnbeck pier - has just partially collapsed:



That sucks. I'd not heard of it before so looked it up. Has to be said it did look a bit rickety, judging by this photo. 





I hope it's fixed up soon and a decent future for it sorted out. 



> Today, the pier is still home to the Weston-super-Mare Lifeboat Station. Since its closure ownership has passed hands many times and it has been subject to a series of proposals for its redevelopment which have all proved fruitless. The pier remains in a largely derelict state.



Birnbeck Pier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## butchersapron (Dec 30, 2015)

That lifeboat station is the busiest in the channel as well. 

I think the abiove pic is of west jetty rather than the pier - the actual pier is running from where the pic is taken to the island, and the lifeboat slipway on the other side


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## butchersapron (Dec 30, 2015)

Also, surprised you'd never heard if it - used to be where people piling over from south wales on dry sundays used to disembark.


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## laptop (Dec 30, 2015)

butchersapron said:


> Also, surprised you'd never heard if it - used to be where people piling over from *south wales* on *dry sundays* used to disembark.



A *clue* I feel.


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## phildwyer (Dec 30, 2015)

butchersapron said:


> That lifeboat station is the busiest in the channel as well.



It's the busiest on the _English_ side.


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## StoneRoad (Dec 30, 2015)

And, IIRC, the RNLI have left the pier station, as the walkway to it was getting well past it's best.

Several quite prominent people have said they would support the restoration of Birnbeck Pier, so perhaps they ought to get involved with Urban Splash ie help with funding and finally make something happen, before it is too late.


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## butchersapron (Dec 30, 2015)

StoneRoad said:


> And, IIRC, the RNLI have left the pier station, as the walkway to it was getting well past it's best.
> 
> Several quite prominent people have said they would support the restoration of Birnbeck Pier, so perhaps they ought to get involved with Urban Splash ie help with funding and finally make something happen, before it is too late.


Nope - a new walkway was even put in to help them. And fuck urban splash.


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## StoneRoad (Dec 30, 2015)

They left the pier in 2014 ...

http://www.wsmrnliappeal.co.uk/?p=824

and may have a new station soon ...

http://www.wsmrnliappeal.co.uk/?p=1127


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## butchersapron (Dec 30, 2015)

StoneRoad said:


> They left the pier in 2014 ...
> 
> http://www.wsmrnliappeal.co.uk/?p=824
> 
> ...


You're right, they're not operating off there now - my mistake.


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## StoneRoad (Dec 30, 2015)

OK, butchersapron - I fund raise for the RNLI, so have to try and keep up with what is happening -

Actually, I wish they were - it has better access to deeper water for launching - and it might add push to shove for potential restoration / revamping the pier.

BTW - weston crew were helping with the rescues in the last couple of flood events


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## butchersapron (Aug 6, 2020)

Little bit of an update - the council have began a Compulsory Purchase Process due to the owners not doing mandated repair and maintenance work and the plan is to pass ownership onto the RNLI with the intention of re-opening as a active lifeboat station.

edit: to be clear, this is Birnbeck.


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