Fire-ravaged cafe not safe for fire investigators

Image source, Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images
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The building where the Victorian novelist and poet Thomas Hardy worked as an apprentice architect has been gutted by fire.
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The blaze on Dorchester's South Street swept through The Gorge Cafe and spread to the roofs of neighbouring properties.
Image source, DWFireRescue
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About 50 firefighters tackled the blaze as it tore through the historic Grade II listed building on 9 December shortly after 03:30 GMT.
Image source, Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images
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The mid-terrace building has fallen and spread across the street, along with a stone plaque inserted in the wall on the first floor, dedicated to the novelist.
Image source, DWFireRescue
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Buildings either side of the café remain unstable with fears chimney stacks could collapse.
Image source, Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images
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Debris has been left strewn across the road in front of the building and its collapsed facade.
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Firefighters remained at South Street for several days following the fire.

30 December 2024

An investigation into the cause of a fire at a cafe left a charred wreck is yet to start as the building and those neighbouring it are not safe.

About 50 firefighters tackled the fire at The Gorge Café in South Street, Dorchester when it broke out on 9 December in the early hours.

The building, where novelist Thomas Hardy trained as an architect, collapsed into the street and those either side were severely damaged.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said due to the scale of damage "it has not been safe for us to carry out a fire investigation".

The area in front of the buildings affected by fire remains fenced off as they are still at risk of collapse.

No injuries were reported, but a number of local residents were moved to a safe place as the fire engulfed the cafe.

The building had a stone plaque on its front wall in the centre of the first floor honouring Thomas Hardy.

It stated the novelist and poet trained at the building as an apprentice architect to John Hicks between 1856-1862.

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