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A major fire destroyed the Best Western Falmouth Beach Hotel on 30 April, causing the evacuation of a neighbouring hotel in the process.
More than 100 firefighters were tasked with tackling the blaze; of which the cause is still not known. The inferno started on the third floor of the four-storey hotel before spreading and causing the roof to collapse. The strong wind in the area abetted the flames’ spread and hindered the firefighting process by blowing the crews’ hose-streams away from the burning structure.
No-one was hurt in the fire, as staff and guests, including Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, were moved to safety.
The 120-bedroom hotel was opened by the Evans family in 1984 and became a part of the Best Western Group in 2000. The mayor of Falmouth, Geoffrey Evans, described the fire as “absolutely horrendous” and said that it “couldn’t have happened at a worse time. It’s right at the start of the holiday season [and] we’ve got the Olympic Torch coming in few weeks, and the Finn Cup (sailing competition) as well, so I don’t know how this is going to affect accommodation.”
Best Western revealed that two coach loads of guests were due to arrive at the hotel on the day of the fire, but was unable to confirm how many people were employed by the hotel and what will happen to their jobs.
