The fire that destroyed the Royal Albion Hotel on Brighton seafront was probably caused by a discarded cigarette, the fire service said today.
Rumours circulated in the aftermath of the fire that a guest had not completely stubbed out a cigarette butt after they smoked while leaning out of a window.
The Royal Albion was one of the few hotels in Brighton which still allowed smoking in some rooms.
Today, East Sussex Fire and Rescue confirmed the fire was accidental, and a still-smouldering cigarette was the likely cause.
In a statement, it said: “East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service can confirm the fire at the Albion Hotel in Brighton on 15 July 2023 was accidental.
“A fire investigation has concluded that it was likely started by a discarded cigarette which had not been completely put out.”
Sussex Police launched an investigation into the cause of the fire on the Tuesday after it broke out. However, this is routine when fires of this size happen.
The seafront road was closed in both directions for six weeks after the fire for demolition work to take place.
I’m surprised. With fire resistant furnishings and smoke detectors this seems a lot of fire for a cigarette that was thrown out of the window.
It doesn’t say it was thrown out of the window
Resistant doesn’t mean immune.
The hotel has a fire service prohibition order against it.. I would say that most in that part of the building was not compliant with legal requirements
There was also a man live streaming saying it Was started by a cigarette.. wonder how he knew that.
What a sketchy report. Assumptions rather than facts.
I think there needs to be an investigation into the Fire Brigade itself and how the fire got so out of hand over such a long period of time rather than being nipped in the bud. No one is saying the fire alarm did not go off, so why wasn’t the fire put out at that point with internal fire extinguishers and hoses while the chance was there?
Sounds more like they don’t know what started it so went for the most believable cause.
Yeah, yeah, yeah🤨
Why were the smoke detectors covered with plastic bags?
I was a resident in a hotel 100 yards from The Albion the night the fire started.
It was a very warm and dry week leading up to the fire. What caused The Fire Brigade the biggest problem was the wind. The wind was gusting off the sea and very strong. I’m still surprised that they couldn’t extinguish it though.
What is more surprising though, is that The Hotel apparently permits smoking in the rooms. I genuinely thought smoking was banned inside all accommodation areas, by law.
This hotel had a serious fire in 1998, that caused extensive damage. It seems that nobody learns from mistakes, and lives continue to be put at risk. Shocking !!