Major Hastings fire - Everything we know so far after derelict building blaze sparks huge emergency response
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A fire broke out at the abandoned Queensbury House building, adjacent to the railway station, around 4.20pm on Saturday (July 1).
Ten fire crews were are at the scene, at the height of the incident, battling thick black smoke.
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Hide AdA spokesperson for East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said: “Smoke was seen coming from a derelict building on Havelock Road in Hastings. We have got appliances from lots of different areas at the scene; The Ridge; Bohemia Road; Bexhill; Battle; Rye; two from Eastbourne; one from Newhaven and one from Lewes.
"We have an Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) from Bohemia Road and crews are using four breathing apparatus, one main jet and one running foam.”
In a post on social media, the fire service added: “Please avoid the area if possible and keep windows and doors closed.”
Multiple road closures were in place in Hastings, as a result of the incident.
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Hide AdBus company Stagecoach said its services were ‘currently unable to serve’ the stops on Havelock Street and Queens Road, adding: “Apologies for any inconvenience caused to your journey this evening.”
Local resident, and student journalist, Daniel Burton provided an eye-witness account on Saturday evening.
“At around 9pm, Havelock Road had reopened,” he said.
“There was a fire engine outside the front of the building along with a police car. The front of the building has been taped off.
“I saw firefighters going into the building next door, checking the building (Havelock Place). There is also a police car at the back of the building on Priory Street and a section of area had been taped off preventing people from accessing the back of the building.
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Hide Ad“It is clear that the incident has been scaled back, but the building has been sealed off.”
What building was on fire?
The fire service said the fire started in a derelict property. This is the abandoned Queensbury House building.
According to the Historical Hastings website, Queensbury House was constructed on the site of number 1, Havelock Road (the Railway Hotel) during the mid 1960s.
The website added: “The prominent eight-storey building with a sub-basement on Priory Street has had a number of uses other than simply offices since its construction including residential usage, the most recent being a proposed conversion into a hotel with over 100 rooms in 2020. However the building proved to be structurally unstable, with the brick cladding falling - this leading to the building being slated for demolition in 2022.”