After a fire broke out on the roof, a Grade II-listed hotel had to be evacuated.
Thornton Manor, Wirral, Cheshire hosted Brexit discussions between Prime Minister Boris Johnson , Ireland’s Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and the British Prime Minister in October 2019.
The historic venue was woken by guests in the early morning hours to inform them that they had to go.
The scene was on Manor Road in Thornton Hough.
The fire that started in the boiler at the hotel was put out before firefighters arrived.
However, they also discovered fire in the roof when they visited the building.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service described the incident as a “challenging” one that saw crews fight through the night.
One witness at a wedding said that firefighters knocked on his door at 1.30am to tell him and his wife to get out fast as the building was burning.
He stated that they had hammered the door open for us to escape because we were asleep.
“They were professional and appeared to have the scene under control.
“But there’s still smoke coming out of the house. It wouldn’t surprise to me if they’re here for one or two days.”
Another guest stated that the flames had taken control of the entire house.
“We could see flames on the roof, and they were approximately 10 feet tall,” said a witness.
“It’s quiet this morning, but you can still see the smoke billowing.”
“We are just waiting to hear from the authorities what could happen so that we can get in and retrieve our keys to get home.”
Two main fires were dealt with by firefighters, both of which are now out of control.
Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service spokesmen said that firefighting continued at the 3 storey listed building measuring approximately 2000m2 in size throughout the night. It was a difficult incident.
“Firefighters deal with two main types of fire.
‘Emergency Services on scene with us are Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service (northwest Ambulance Service) and Merseyside police – we thank our blue light colleagues who supported our response.
“We also want to thank the Salvation Army, for providing hot meals and their presence on-site.
The ongoing incident has been reported to ‘United Utilities’, the Environmental Agency, and the Wirral Council.
“Multi agency meetings” have been held at regular times throughout the morning. A complete evacuation of the property was done with a thorough search audit.
“A structural engineer was requested. A full structural survey took place within a short time. As a result, internal firefighting has stopped and safety cordens were advised and placed on the site.