Bury St Edmunds: Strada Fire Update
19 June 2012, 08:50 | Updated: 20 June 2012, 16:18
Structural engineers last night attempted to bring down part of the façade of the Strada restaurant in Bury St Edmunds which caught fire on Saturday night.
The front of the building has become increasingly unstable throughout the last couple of days and it is hoped the planned move would prevent any more of the 17th century building from collapsing, or damaging nearby properties.
Firefighters have been working to try and extinguish the deep-seated fires that were burning in the remains of the building that partly collapsed on Saturday night.
There continues to be numerous amount of small fires burning under the collapsed structure and work is taking place to ensure that these are extinguished and do not affect the neighbouring properties.
Local businesses have rallied behind the fire service and other agencies tackling the blaze. Staff from Auntie Pam's Sweet Shop have been handing out sweets and workers from the mobile phone provider 3 have been charging mobile phone batteries.
John Wilcock, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service's incident commander, said:
"This has been a real team effort. Despite the very sad reason we're all here, the sense of community spirit has helped people soldier on.
"We're doing everything we can to help the local businesses affected by this fire to open as quickly as possible."
Councillor Colin Spence, Suffolk County Council's cabinet member for public protection, said:
“Clearly this continues to be a very difficult situation for everyone involved and the building remains in an unstable condition. I continue to be impressed by the understanding of local residents and businesses while the work is on-going."
Bury St Edmunds Town Council has released the following statement:
"Bury St Edmunds Town Council is greatly appreciative of the work of the emergency services in dealing with the fire that has largely destroyed Cupola House, the beautiful Grade 1 Listed Building in the Traverse, and also of the work of the Borough Council in leading the recovery team and other agencies to restore as much normality to the area as possible for affected businesses, residents and visitors whilst making essential preparations for the eventual painstaking rebuilding and restoration.
The fire damage caused to this iconic historic building is a great sadness to the people of Bury St Edmunds and of Suffolk who would no doubt wish to also express thanks."