Grateful for response to Angel Inn incident

Avital part of rural fire services are the retained fire fighters who make up the first responders in many parts of our community. These are highly skilled people, often working a separate job the rest of the week, who dedicate their free time to training and being on-call should disaster strike.

Last Thursday, at 1:08am, the unthinkable happened, when the Midhurst and Petworth retained fire services received a call over a serious incident beginning to unfold at the Angel Inn on North Street. Midhurst responded and were on the scene in nine minutes. Petworth in 13 minutes. This is the time taken from the emergency call to the team getting to the station, into the truck and arriving at the scene.

That timeliness is vital to save lives, and last Thursday, these were lives that had been through so much already: Ukrainian refugees temporarily homed in the Angel

Inn hotel. As many of you will know, The Inn has been a jewel in the crown of Midhurst for many years, with a history going back all the way to the 18th century. While work by Historic England is already underway to see how we might still preserve some of this piece of history, I know those with fond memories will be deeply saddened by the state of the site today.

Thankfully, the rapid response of the fire service, police, and county council has meant we’ve been able to avoid any serious casualties from fire, and that everyone could be evacuated from the scene without serious injury.

This also wouldn’t have been possible without the community. From the first minutes of the disaster, when the owners of the Lime and Spice restaurant threw their doors open to the displaced refugees, to its final hours, seeing businesses bring food and water to those on the front lines, the people of Midhurst came together in a really incredible way and I’m so grateful to everyone that played their part. If you’re around Midhurst this Saturday, please consider dropping by the Fire Station’s charity car wash between 10am and 3pm. They’re a fantastic team supporting a fantastic cause, and I know they’ll appreciate the visit.

Finally, if you’re an individual or a business who was affected by the fire and you’re still in need of assistance, get in touch at: gillian.keegan. mp@parliament.uk and we will do what we can to help.