On Saturday night at around 8.40pm a fire broke out in the kitchen of the Grove House pub, on Camberwell Grove. Fifty staff and punters were escorted out of the building when the alarm went off, so no-one was hurt. A total of ten fire engines and 70 fire crew attended the blaze, which was finally extinguished some six hours later.
The full extent of the damage hasn’t been reported, but there is damage to the first and second floors, and the extraction system which goes to the roof. Personally speaking, I hope the damage isn’t too bad as the Grove is one of my favourite buildings in the area.
The cause of the fire has also not been reported. Update: an article in the Morning Advertiser says “fire officials believe the fire was caused by a thermostat failing on a deep fat fryer, causing the oil to catch alight”.
The pub will remain closed “until further notice”—here’s hoping they’re back on their feet soon.
You can see a couple of clips of the fire in these videos from Twitter user Rodnie Oro.
Fire at Grove House pic.twitter.com/yLi6vAcGRp
— Rodnie Oro (@rodnie_oro) July 21, 2018
Fire suddenly broke out in the pub where we were drinking #camberwell #grovehouse pic.twitter.com/ZUYe1gyWz7
— Rodnie Oro (@rodnie_oro) July 21, 2018