Arson ruled out at glider club (From Stroud News and Journal)

Arson ruled out at glider club

YEARS of paperwork have gone up in smoke after a fire ripped through the Bristol and Gloucestershire Glider Club in Nympsfield this week.

The blaze began during the early hours of Friday morning in a first-floor storage area in the main club house before spreading into the roof.

The fire service was alerted to the blaze just before 4am and battled to bring it under control for over an hour, quenching the last flames shortly after 5.15am.

A spokesman for the fire service told the News & Journal the fire had probably been caused by heat from a contractor's soldering gas gun.

"It definitely wasn't arson and we've discounted the possibility of faulty electrics," he said.

"Contractors were carrying out some renovation work that afternoon and had to use the gas gun to join pipes on the water network.

"This was in very close proximity with combustible insulation within the roof space.

"The fire remained undetected between the plasterboard and roof material and slowly spread."

For more on this story and more, see this week's Stroud News & Journal