The huge fire that destroyed buildings on and near Mumbles Pier has been ruled as accidental by the fire service. An investigation into the blaze, which reduced a popular restaurant and former nightclub to rubble, has found no evidence to suggest it was caused by a "deliberate or reckless act".
Firefighters spent several hours battling the fire as it swept through a building on the shore-end of the pier on Wednesday, August 31. Flames completely decimated Copperfish restaurant and a huge neighbouring community room known by many locals as the former Cinderella's nightclub.
No-one was injured and remarkably, the amusement arcade, Beach Hut cafe, RNLI base and the pier itself were all unaffected by the blaze. You can get the latest stories from across Swansea sent straight to your inbox for free with our newsletter.
Read more: Some firefighters had 'issues with equipment' at Mumbles blaze
The owners of the pier, Bert and Fred Bollom, said they were "completely devastated" by the fire, with staff describing it as "heartbreaking". Thieves have since added to their woes by breaking into the fire-damaged businesses and stealing scrap metal and alcohol from behind the bar. You can read more about that here.
A "multi-agency investigation" into the blaze was carried out by Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, which attended the scene on Wednesday morning and managed to extinguish the flames at around 9:30pm. It has now ruled that the cause was accidental.
A service spokesperson told WalesOnline: "The fire has been established as accidental, caused by ignition of waste/refuse linked to the renovation of the building." Detective Inspector Gareth Jones of Swansea CID added: "The fire at Mumbles Pier has been reviewed by Swansea CID with no evidence, information or intelligence to support that the fire was a deliberate or reckless act."
Photos of the scene, taken on Thursday, show the damage to Copperfish restaurant, with part of the roof having collapsed and many walls and fixtures disintegrated. Dozens of tables, chairs and striking artworks had been destroyed and debris and rubble could be seen throughout the building.
The site is said to remain "unsafe" and members of the public are reminded not to trespass past the safety barriers, for fear of injury. The Beach Hut cafe and the amusements arcade at Mumbles Pier have since re-opened to the public. The clean-up operation began on Friday, although staff were left shocked when they discovered that "opportunists" had taken scrap metal and alcohol from the site of the blaze.
The pier's owners have expressed their gratitude to the fire service as well as their staff and the wider community for the support they've received. Co-owner Bert Bollom said: "Before anything else, I'd just to like to thank the emergency services and everyone who was involved in putting out the fire. They went above and beyond and we're really grateful for everyone's effort in it, the police have been wonderful.
"All my staff, I can't thank them all enough. That said, as a family and as a business we are mortified. Words can't cover how I feel at the moment. I'm so upset, it's something else."
Bert's brother, Fred Bollom, added: "I think we're really grateful for our staff as well. They cleared the site as quickly as they could. There's no issues, no injuries, so we're very thankful for that at the moment, and we just continue to assess the damage."
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