Cigarette possible cause of York blaze

Ferdinand · #1 07-06-2007, 09:57 AM

CIGARETTE POSSIBLE CAUSE OF YORK BLAZE
E-mail Article Print-Friendly Subscribe to RSS Feed
Post to del.icio.us

By Anita Chambers, PA Sport

A discarded cigarette appears to be the likely cause of Wednesday's fire in the Ebor Stand at York.

An area on the fifth floor of the £20 million grandstand was affected by the blaze and officials believe a cigarette was to blame for the incident.

"The fire investigators have concluded that on the balance of probability - which is the test they use as you cannot be certain - the cause of the fire was a discarded cigarette," said James Brennan, head of marketing and sponsorship at the track.

"From our point of of view, the fire has happened and something started it. We wish it hadn't but need to push on and focus on recovering from it.

"We will hold an internal investigation. The Ebor Stand has been a non-smoking building since it opened in 2003 so all the signs were in place and it is just coincidence it happened just days after the smoking ban was introduced.

"All the staff know it is a disciplinary offence to smoke in the building but the important thing now is to underline that message again."

Staff at the track are continuing the clean-up operation but it is still unclear how much damage has been caused by the blaze.

Brennan added: "Our teams and various specialists are still making their assessments. It takes time but we hope they will find ways to get part, if not all of the stand, back in action."

Article reprinted from The Sporting Life website
====================

Isn't anyone else sorry that hardly anyone chews tobacco anymore? A lot filthier but not as many fires caused.