Crews fight fire at South Western House once used by first class passengers of Titanic

Firefighters battle blaze at historic city building Firefighters battle blaze at historic city building

FIREFIGHTERS from across the city battled a blaze at a landmark Southampton building once used by first class passengers of the Titanic.

Crews from St Mary's, Redbridge and Hightown fire stations were called to the Grade II listed South Western House, which is now occupied by a restaurant, club and the city's most expensive apartments, at 11pm last night.

Staff who work at the Grand Cafe- a restaurant and bar, were in the basement at about 11pm when they spotted a blazing fire coming from the laundry room.

They kicked the door down and threw water on the blaze, firefighters said.

Although they managed to put out the fire, the basement was filled with thick black smoke and firefighters have today spoken out to highlight the safety message “get out and stay out.”

Crews were on the scene in Canute Road for more than an hour last night to clear the dangerous smoke logging, which filled the lower floor of the building.

Firefighters said they did not have to evacuate residents or diners- and no apartments were affected. The blaze caused damage to the laundry area of the basement.

It is not thought to be suspicious.

Crew manager of St Mary's fire station Peter Clarke, said: “The actions of the staff prevented a potentially awful situation and they acted bravely and it is commendable however we must stress if you see a fire don't tackle it.

" Call us up, close the doors if you can and get out and stay out.”

Once Southampton's grandest hotel, the South Western House was used by first class passengers of the Titanic and its history dates back to 1865.

Among the Titanic passengers who stayed here was J Bruce Ismay- the controversial head of the White Star Line.

The building looks directly out over the docks.

Comments(16)

vag says...
8:20am Thu 22 Nov 12

That's typical. I had just gone to bed, in my flat on the fifth floor, when the alarms went off. The one time I decide to ignore them (they go off quite a lot, and the annunciators are positioned inside the indidvidual flats), there's an actual fire. Crikey.

jade25 says...
9:28am Thu 22 Nov 12

What a shame, hopefully this lovely building has'nt be ruined!

RadicalEmu says...
10:23am Thu 22 Nov 12

vag wrote:
That's typical. I had just gone to bed, in my flat on the fifth floor, when the alarms went off. The one time I decide to ignore them (they go off quite a lot, and the annunciators are positioned inside the indidvidual flats), there's an actual fire. Crikey.
You could've made it into the Darwin Awards ;)

andyfidler1966 says...
10:45am Thu 22 Nov 12

Oh good, is it 'national get some sort of link to the Titanic day' again? Perhaps, Tara Russell you could explain the relevance?

Stillness says...
10:49am Thu 22 Nov 12

jade25 wrote:
What a shame, hopefully this lovely building has'nt be ruined!
Your too busy to read the story then.

Saintcosser says...
11:01am Thu 22 Nov 12

I blame Guly for this.....

Brite Spark says...
11:17am Thu 22 Nov 12

andyfidler1966 wrote:
Oh good, is it 'national get some sort of link to the Titanic day' again? Perhaps, Tara Russell you could explain the relevance?
How dim are you?
In this year of Titanic Remembrance most people will be aware of the sad and nostalgic photos taken of families waiting outside this building for news of their missing loved ones. How many died from Southampton ... 600?

andyfidler1966 says...
11:28am Thu 22 Nov 12

Clearly not as dim as you. The Titanic anniversary has been massively overplayed. To the people affected every year is an anniversary, and to othet people life goes on. When exactly will this hysteria end?

bazzeroz says...
2:19pm Thu 22 Nov 12

andyfidler1966 wrote:
Clearly not as dim as you. The Titanic anniversary has been massively overplayed. To the people affected every year is an anniversary, and to othet people life goes on. When exactly will this hysteria end?
South Western House was CUNARD not White Star Line. It was USED by some of the Titanic passengers.

bazzeroz says...
2:20pm Thu 22 Nov 12

Brite Spark wrote:
andyfidler1966 wrote:
Oh good, is it 'national get some sort of link to the Titanic day' again? Perhaps, Tara Russell you could explain the relevance?
How dim are you?
In this year of Titanic Remembrance most people will be aware of the sad and nostalgic photos taken of families waiting outside this building for news of their missing loved ones. How many died from Southampton ... 600?
South Western House was CUNARD not White Star Line. It was USED by some of the Titanic passengers.

bazzeroz says...
2:21pm Thu 22 Nov 12

Sorry andyfiddler1966 wrong post.

andysaints007 says...
2:55pm Thu 22 Nov 12

andyfidler1966 wrote:
Oh good, is it 'national get some sort of link to the Titanic day' again? Perhaps, Tara Russell you could explain the relevance?
What a prize pratt you are

andysaints007 says...
2:56pm Thu 22 Nov 12

andyfidler1966 wrote:
Clearly not as dim as you. The Titanic anniversary has been massively overplayed. To the people affected every year is an anniversary, and to othet people life goes on. When exactly will this hysteria end?
It will probably end when you syop being a d*ckhead - NEVER

andysaints007 says...
3:02pm Thu 22 Nov 12

bazzeroz wrote:
Brite Spark wrote:
andyfidler1966 wrote:
Oh good, is it 'national get some sort of link to the Titanic day' again? Perhaps, Tara Russell you could explain the relevance?
How dim are you?
In this year of Titanic Remembrance most people will be aware of the sad and nostalgic photos taken of families waiting outside this building for news of their missing loved ones. How many died from Southampton ... 600?
South Western House was CUNARD not White Star Line. It was USED by some of the Titanic passengers.
It was used by First Class passengers no matter who they were travelling with! So what exactly is your point?

bazzeroz says...
7:21pm Thu 22 Nov 12

andysaints007 wrote:
bazzeroz wrote:
Brite Spark wrote:
andyfidler1966 wrote:
Oh good, is it 'national get some sort of link to the Titanic day' again? Perhaps, Tara Russell you could explain the relevance?
How dim are you?
In this year of Titanic Remembrance most people will be aware of the sad and nostalgic photos taken of families waiting outside this building for news of their missing loved ones. How many died from Southampton ... 600?
South Western House was CUNARD not White Star Line. It was USED by some of the Titanic passengers.
It was used by First Class passengers no matter who they were travelling with! So what exactly is your point?
Quote: In this year of Titanic Remembrance most people will be aware of the sad and nostalgic photos taken of families waiting outside this building for news of their missing loved ones

Matt Probert says...
7:46pm Thu 22 Nov 12

"Firefighters battle blaze at historic city building"

Quite a misleading headline. The story tells how the fire was out when they arrived, and they dealt with the smoke in the basement. Not quite the same as the image of a towering inferno threatening an historic listed building as implied by the headline.

Bit naughty, Echo.

Matt

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