‘Devastated’ Radio studio destroyed in fire
ARADIO presenter has described the terrifying moment smoke started to fill the room while he was live on air.
DJ Tony was playing his second track on his Silversound Show on BCfm yesterday when he spotted smoke billowing up from behind a cabinet.
As he ran to get help, fire alarms sounded and the Easton Community Centre building was evacuated.
Around 20 adults and 30 children were forced to flee the centre after flames erupted at 11.14am.
Firefighters then rushed to extinguish the blaze on Kilburn Street.
Bosses from the community radio station have released dramatic photographs of the fire’s aftermath.
Charred pieces of equipment can
be seen lying on broken shelves, while pipes have been melted to the ceiling.
In a video uploaded to the radio station’s Facebook page, DJ Tony said: “Smoke suddenly appeared on my left hand side, smoke was coming up from behind the cabinet.
“I opened the cabinet doors to see if there was a switch or anything I could turn off, nothing appeared that I could do anything with. There were no obvious flames at this point.
“The next thing was the room started filling with smoke so I went out to get the reception to call the fire bridgade.”
A radio spokesperson uploaded the following statement to Facebook: “We are devastated to announce our studio and most of our broadcast equipment Easton Community Centre has been destroyed. The fire broke out during a live broadcast of our Silversound Show at approx 11am this morning - thankfully neither our presenter Tony nor anyone else in the building was injured.
“The whole building was evacuated and is currently without power. Initial thoughts are that the fire was caused by an electrical fault but this is yet to be confirmed.
“Our thanks go to staff and colleagues in the building and Avon Fire & Rescue Service for handling the situation so well.”
In another post, a trustee of the station said she was unsure when their shows would be back on.
She said: “So sad that this has to happen to a community project with no money. Please bear with us as we try to sort our plans and get back on air... somehow.”
Scores of people have taken to social media to voice their support for the radio station.
One person wrote: “Absolutely devastated for you guys.” Another said: “So much love and support for you in #Bristol and beyond.”