'Highly suspicious' fire in derelict former hotel
INVESTIGATIONS are under way into the cause of a 'highly suspicious' fire at the derelict former St Martin's Hotel, which caused extensive damage in the early hours of yesterday.
Fire & Rescue crews arrived at about 1.30am to discover flames coming out of the roof above the entrance of the abandoned hotel in Les Merriennes.
Extra firefighters had to be drafted in and more than 100,000 litres of water were poured on the fire during the night.
Yesterday firefighters were damping down the smouldering site throughout the day.
Crew commander Adrian Savident said the damage was extensive.
The cause of the fire is not yet known and any investigation is likely to be hampered by the delicate nature of the remaining structure.
Chief fire officer Jon Le Page said it was not known if it was started intentionally.
'It's highly suspicious,' he said.
