Isle of Wight blaze: Vintage boats feared destroyed Published duration 26 January 2016

image copyright Association of Dunkirk Little Ships image caption Vere was used to rescue 346 men from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1941

Vintage boats, including a World War Two rescue vessel, are among those feared to have been destroyed in a fire on an Isle of Wight industrial estate.

Thick black smoke billowed over Cowes when the major blaze broke out at Medina Village on Monday.

Classic vessels, including the Dunkirk "little ship" Vere, and racing yachts are believed to be among the wreckage.

Boat building firm owner David Heritage said they were "irreplaceable".

media caption Eyewitnesses told of hearing explosions when the fire broke out

image caption David Heritage's boat building workshop narrowly escaped the fire

Two fire crews remain on the scene damping down and extinguishing hotspots. A police cordon is also still in place.

An investigation into the cause of the fire, believed to have started in a car workshop, is under way.

Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue group manager Dean Haward, said: "It was a significant fire with a lot of direct heat damage. The steel structure has buckled so we've got some partial collapse and a lot of contents destroyed."

'Pile of ash'

With high winds affecting the area, part of the site remains cordoned off following the blaze which, at its height, spread to an area of about 100-sq-m (1,076-sq-ft) and was being tackled by more than 50 firefighters.

About 150 people work on the estate, which has a total of about 40 units.

image copyright NPAS Redhill image caption Photographs taken from a police helicopter show the scale of the destruction

image copyright @Portchester28 image caption The fire is believed to have started in a car workshop

image copyright NPAS Redhill image caption A thermal imaging camera captured the fire at its height

image copyright Cowes fire image caption Homes and work premises were evacuated as the fire took hold

image caption Ian Campbell had spent £80,000 trying to restore the Dunkirk ship Vere

A number of classic vintage craft were undergoing restoration work in adjoining workshops.

Martin Nott had been restoring a vintage 1902 Gaff Cutter, Witch, which was included in the National Register of Historic Vessels

"We watched the building collapse around it, so assume there is nothing left," he said.

Patrick Moreton, of Moreton Marine a specialist in yachting woodwork, said his workshop and boats were a "total loss".

'Terrible day'

Mr Heritage, whose boat building workshop narrowly escaped the fire, said it had been a "terrible day".

"We were just praying our building didn't get it. But some people have lost everything - there are some beautiful old boats being restored that have just gone - they are irreplaceable," he said.

"People have been really supportive - that's the sailing community, they understand."

Vere, a 1905 cruiser used in the Dunkirk rescue, was also being stored at the boatyard as part of a restoration project that began in 2008.

It was used to rescue 346 men from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1941 - among the most of any of the so-called "Little Ships".

Ian Campbell, from the Vere Restoration Trust, had spent £80,000 trying to bring the boat back to its former glory.

He said: "As far as I can tell from the aerial photographs she's just a pile of ash."

image caption Vere, pictured in 2008, had undergone restoration work at the Cowes boatyard

Also destroyed in the fire were racing yachts being stored for a regatta in April.

On Facebook, Etchells regatta chairman David Franks said: "Approximately 14 Etchells appear to have been destroyed in the fire... We have already sourced equivalent replacements for nearly all of them."

He said boat-building would resume at a neighbouring facility, which was unaffected by the fire, and the 2016 World Championship being held on the Solent later this year was still set to go ahead.

Martin Drake-Knight, owner of clothing firm Rapanui, which employs more than 20 people, said his firm's warehouse had filled up with smoke when the fire broke out.

"The rear door of the warehouse was being licked with flames in the early stage. From what I could see, the roof had collapsed so I believe the majority of the building has subsequently been destroyed," he said.

Residents evacuated

Organisers of the Cowes Carnival charity, which stages processions throughout the island during the summer months, said new floats built to mark its 120th anniversary had been destroyed in the blaze.

Phil Jordan, Isle of Wight Council member with responsibility for the fire service, said: "We will be talking to businesses to see how the authority can play a role in helping businesses and rebuilding the area in general."

Residents in nearby Thetis Road and other streets were evacuated from their homes and taken to a yacht club which had been set up by Isle of Wight Council as a temporary place of shelter.

Local councillor Lora Peacey-Wilcox said the community was "in a state of shock".

"We've had boatbuilding since the 1800s and to have a fire of this size is just such a shock. We are extremely grateful to the emergency services for acting so swiftly.

"The community will come together to alleviate the situation, as they always do."

No-one was seriously injured in the blaze but two people referred themselves to St Mary's Hospital in Newport for the effects of breathing in smoke.

image copyright Joshua Aitken-Dunkeld image caption The Cowes Chain Ferry was suspended as smoke engulfed the river

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