Underfall Yard fire: Charity 'devastated' but vows to rebuild Bristol boatyard

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The charity that runs Bristol's Underfall Yard has said it is "devastated" by the fire that broke out there last night.

It added that everyone in the community of boatbuilders, engineers, craftspeople and residents had vowed to rebuild the area back to its former glory.

The blaze burned through the night at the working boatyard in the Hotwells area of the city.

Homes and houseboats were evacuated while Avon Fire and Rescue Service used eight fire engines to battle the flames.

A firefighter surveys the scene.

In a statement from the Underfall Yard Trust, the charity which was set up more than 25 years ago to transform the area of Bristol’s Harbourside, said they would be supporting the tenants who have lost everything as their yards and workshops went up in flames around midnight last night.

Avon Fire and Rescue Service handed over the scene to the Harbourmaster and the charity after lunch today, after a morning of dampening down the smouldering remains of several of the units.

In a statement the group said: “We are devastated by the fire at the Underfall Yard.

“The fire has destroyed the heart of the Yard where most of the boatbuilding activity takes place. Tenants' businesses and boats have been ruined.

"We are supporting our tenants as best we can. Thankfully no one was killed and no one was injured, but a lot of people in the Underfall Yard community have been impacted: Our staff, our tenants, our volunteers and our neighbours on Avon Crescent and Nova Scotia Place, and our hearts are with them.

The fire raged through the boatyard last night. Credit: Peter Hook

“We are grateful for everyone's cooperation, particularly those who were evacuated as the fire service fought the fire. We are so grateful to the fire service who stopped this being a greater disaster and for the support of the Harbour Master Team,” they added.

Members of the trust said they were "absolutely committed" to seeing the yard restored.

"The group was formed in the 1990s to bring the Underfall Yard out of dereliction, to look after the historic buildings, to shine a light on Bristol's engineering harbour heritage and to promote traditional marine skills,” they said.

“In light of the devastation at the Yard, those aims remain as relevant now as they were then. We are absolutely committed to rebuilding the Underfall Yard and continuing the charity's work,” they added.