A fire has affected a Hampshire
restaurant and pub with firefighters rushing to Emsworth
this morning.
The blaze affected JJ’s Taphouse in South Street, Emsworth
before it spread further to kitchen roof of the Blue Bell
Inn next door in the early hours of Saturday, July 11. Both
businesses have posted updates online stating that no-one
has been hurt in the incident.
JJ’s
Taphouse posted on Instagram: “Thank you to everyone who has
reached out after the fire early this morning. We would like
to say that no one has been harmed and the authorities had
the situation under control. We’d like to reassure everyone
that the fire did not start within JJ’s premises.”
The eatery advised that an
electrician had visited the property following the
extinguishing of the fire and it will open as normal today.
The post said: “We’re pleased to let you know that JJ’s will be open today as normal. A huge thank you to everyone who reached out - your support means so much to us.”
While the fire spread to a small part of the Blue Bell Inn, the pub may not be able to open today with significant damage caused to its kitchen roof.
The
pub posted on Facebook: “Not quite the
wake-up call I was expecting at 2am this morning...The alarm
was triggered by a tamper alert, followed by calls from our
neighbours. Before the jungle drums start, there was a fire
at JJ’s which spread rapidly towards the Blue Bell, reaching
our kitchen roof.
“Thankfully, nobody was hurt, and a
huge thank you goes to Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire &
Rescue Service, especially the Emsworth boys first on the
scene Graham , Ross , Kev and all , whose quick response
prevented the fire from spreading further and brought it
under control incredibly quickly.
“Unfortunately, we have sustained
significant damage to our kitchen roof, so we won’t be able
to open today. Our team is already working hard to get
everything sorted. We’re hopeful we may still be able to
open this evening for the football, but we’ll keep everyone
updated as soon as we know more.”
The News 11th July
