Staff at The Ship Inn pub in Levington have been left feeling emotional after the buildings historic thatched roof suffered a devastating blaze.
A total of 19 fire engines attended the blaze this morning - where crews worked tirelessly to strip the thatched roof in an attempt to stem the blaze for more than four hours.
Nick Attfield, director of Adnams properties, was at the scene of the fire having received a call from staff at around 10am.
He said: “I got a call from one of our chefs saying that the pub was on fire, that they had safely evacuated the building and fire engines were on their way.
“Everyone got out of the pub safely, so we know that the fire alarm worked. A neighbour was also walking her dog and saw a tiny part of the thatch roof on fire and banged on the door.”
Crews were called at 9.37am and a total of 45 firefighters were at the scene to try and tackle the blaze. Crews wearing breathing apparatus climbed ladders to reach the roof and work to strip the thatch to prevent the flames spreading.
Mr Attfield, who on behalf of Adnams has been in charge of the pub since it was purchased in 2009, continued: “We know that it happened very quickly but all of our team got out safely which is the main thing.
“Two or three staff were inside as chefs were prepping for the day - it was lucky that people were here and that everything worked as it was supposed to.
“The results are truly devastating – for me it’s a property, but for these people it’s their jobs, their homes and a place where they love working.
“The staff and community are devastated - and a little bit emotional as well.”
No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is currently unclear.
•READ MORE: Community saddened by fire at The Ship Inn
Speaking of the pub’s future, Mr Attfield continued: “It is what it is – there will be lots of analysis over the day and the coming weeks about what happened so that we can put it back together.”
This isn’t the first time the pub has suffered a blaze - a devastating fire in 2001 engulfed the building and eight crews were called to deal with the incident.
Following the damage the building was rebuilt and reopened as a successful pub.
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