Fire At Marlow RC

MRC fire. Picture from KateJames45 on Twitter

In an e-mail from this morning, Tim Koch reports that there has been a serious fire at Steve Redgrave's home club, Marlow RC,

Tim writes,

A BBC report at 9.12 BST quotes Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service as saying that 55 firefighters and eight engines were called to the blaze at about 04:15 BST. Arson is not suspected at this stage.

I know the Marlow clubhouse well as they are delightful hosts every year on part of the Auriol Kensington Annual Row to Henley. The bar has (had?) a wonderful display of pictures and artefacts including one of the most attractive war memorials that I have seen in a rowing club. The Maidenhead Advertiser website says:

‘Historical artefacts, including a World War One memorial, have been badly damaged as well as several boats - but many more were saved by firefighters.’

I have asked a rowing friend who lives in Marlow to find out more but judging from the picture by KatieJames45 on Twitter it looks like the fire started in the left of the building, perhaps in the bar/kitchen area. The other half of the upper floor, on the right, is the gym.

The Bucks Free Press website report is here.

Here are some photographs from My Marlow Blog.

It is a very sad day and a reminder to all rowing clubs to review their fire precautions.

HTBS will keep you updated when we have more information to share!