Not for the first time there has been a major fire at a former bingo hall. This news comes as no surprise as it appears that as soon as bingo stops operating in some of these venues, they are left to fall into major disrepair. The sad thing about this is that many of the buildings that were previously used as bingo playing venues have some kind of historic value, and it is with some regret that irreplaceable things are destroyed by these fires, things such as the spirit, décor and culture of bingo.
Although the news of this fire seems to be a little incomplete, it appears as though firefighters had to evacuate dozens of people from the building, so it appears as though it was being used for some purpose or other. Fire fighters had to wear breathing apparatus and entered the former bingo hall to try to put out the blaze. They were however unsuccessful and were overcome by intense heat and fear that it was imminent that floors and walls were going to collapse.
The height of the flames and smoke could be seen for miles and just moments after firefighters pulled out huge chunks of masonry fell in. Forty-five firefighters from both local and area relief crews were called to the blaze, and twelve hours later smoke could still be seen coming out of parts of the building.
Tags: Bingo