Bunbury Parade Hotel destroyed by fire
The iconic pub, the Parade Hotel in Bunbury, which has since been renamed the Parade Taphouse, has been gutted by fire.
The cause of the fire was officially declared to be the result of the spontaneous combustion of a folded pile of tea towels. It was a complete accident.
These had been brought fresh out of the dryer just before the chefs finished up at midnight.
The fire erupted in the early hours of Sunday morning.
It is estimated to have caused about $350,000 worth of damage.
Three local fire crews fought to bring the blaze in the kitchen under control.
The fire broke out just before 2am on Sunday morning.
No one was injured in the blaze.
Management of the hotel took to Facebook to reassure patrons that everything is okay.
At the same time, photos of the burnt out kitchen were posted up on the pub’s Facebook page.
Management said saying staff had been working through the night to salvage what they could for its Father’s Day dining.
However, they said the pub had to close, citing safety concerns. That came after much discussion looking at options for using an external Kitchen and talking to the pub’s insurers.
“The building is full of soot and smoke and we’re probably looking at a good couple of weeks to get back on our feet,” the post said.”
“We apologize to the 500 people that were booked today for meals but this was the safest option with the possibility of food contamination.”
The pub is looking to re-open as soon as possible.
In another update, management said electricians had been on site to make the pub safe so that Western Power could reconnect the mains.
“This will give us some limited power so we can get our IT systems back up and running,’’ management said on Facebook.
“As soon as possible today we'll be in touch with people who have booked functions with us to discuss options. Thanks to our dedicated staff who came in yesterday in their own time to start the cleanup. We'll get there.”
Leon Gettler, 4th September 2018
