Firefighters from Shanklin, Ventnor, Newport, Freshwater, Sandown, Ryde, Cowes, and East Cowes worked all night to put out the fire, which began around 6 p.m.
Hampshire Constabulary confirmed the following: “We are looking into the cause of a fire that occurred around 6 p.m. yesterday. At the moment, it is being treated as arson.”
The structure was being demolished to make way for a seafront residence.
The design included retaining the Victorian dome, but it is believed that it was destroyed, and the cast iron frame that supported it was buckled by the heat from the fire.
Sandra and Malcolm own the website.
Young, Laura, and Alfie Caudery, their son-in-law.
First and foremost, I’d like to express how relieved my family and I are to know that no one was injured in last night’s fire,” Malcolm said in a statement on Wednesday.
We are extremely grateful to our neighbours for quickly alerting the emergency services, who dispatched teams from across the Island to work through the night to put out the fire.
We cannot comment further on how the fire started while investigations are ongoing, but we can express our deep sadness at losing the very part of the building we have been working so hard to preserve.
Planning has been lengthy and complex for a variety of reasons – beyond the site and building – and our attention has recently been focused on saving the dome, which was an integral part of our design to restore the Gaiety to its former glory and preserve such a historic feature of the Esplanade. It is heartbreaking to witness what has occurred.” We first visited Ventnor ten years ago and fell in love with this special corner of the Island. We are committed to the town and our future here, and we are heartbroken by this latest setback.”
As the fire spread, residents were asked to stay inside and close their windows while The Smoking Lobster restaurant next door vacated their premises.
The Wellington Hotel in Ventnor also provided free lodging to anyone in need.
Anyone with information about the fire should call 101 and reference 44220226052.
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