Pub kitchen devastated in fire caused by 'faulty equipment'

A faulty blowtorch that was switched off, but plugged in to the mains, is thought to have caused the fire, according to Cheryl Povey, licensee of the White Horse Inn, Downton, Salisbury.

She said: “[We think] there was a fault with the equipment, but it was only two years old.

Speedy work

Povey, who lives on-site and is an Ei Publican Parnerships tenant, woke up last Thursday (18 May) morning and went down to the bar, discovering it was full of smoke.

She followed the trail of destruction and found the source of the fire in the pub’s kitchen.

“I called the fire brigade, which arrived after 15 minutes. They came in, put their breathing apparatus on and dealt with the fire quickly. It was all done in an hour and a half,” she added.

Sooty equipment

She added: “If the emergency services had not been here so quickly, God knows what would have happened. But, luckily, most of the equipment was just sooty.”

Though she has only been at the pub for nine months, Povey claimed the pub had built a reputation for its food and so, it was important the doors were not closed for long.

She added: “We were open again for drinks by the Friday (19 May) evening at 5pm and for food on Sunday (21 May) after the kitchen had been cleaned and stripped down.

“We have built up a good reputation for food and [putting the pub back together] was a real community effort.”