New lease of life year on from fire
One year ago today a huge blaze ripped through a popular town centre club as its passionate owners could only stand on and watch as three decades of hard work was destroyed.
Ciaran O’Quigley and his family were left feeling hopeless after Mu Mu in Week Street, Maidstone, caught alight at around 2.30am.
More than 60 firefighters spent the day at the restaurant, bar and entertainment venue tackling the fire, which took nine hours to get control of, and the destruction it left behind.
At its height, 15 fire engines were there trying to stop the flames, with a large cordon from Maidstone East railway station to KFC put in place, and people told to avoid the area.
A dejected O’Quigley family spent the day watching the emergency services work tirelessly to save as much of the business as they could.
A visibly distraught Ciaran looked on from inside the cordon, regularly chatting to the
fire service, and even donning a hard hat to inspect some of the damage when it was safe to do so.
Now, 365 days later the scaffolding, put in place while repairs were under way, was finally taken down on Tuesday.
The devastating fire shocked many residents of Maidstone who know MuMu all too well, and groups stood on and watched as the metal poles were taken down from the front of the site.
“The community were amazing last year,” Ciaran explained.
“They’ve supported MuMu for nearly 30 years and when the scaffolding came down there was a massive group just standing and watching.”
The refurbished restaurant is a world away from the scenes displayed last year after a fire started inside the building in the early hours.
The O’Quigley family say they have big plans for the venue in the coming weeks.