Blaze at Pineapple in Leverton Street - Fire closes CAMRA pub of the Year

Published: 20 May 2010
by DAN CARRIER

THEY should have been celebrating being voted the Campaign for Real Ale pub of the year – but instead staff and regulars at the Pineapple in Leverton Street, Kentish Town, were fleeing for safety when a fire broke out in the Victorian pub’s kitchen.

The blaze, which started on Thursday, forced the pub to close for the day – and then the doors had to be locked again later in the week as four ceilings fell into the historic bar.

Owner Paul Davies said the fire started when a motor running an extractor fan fused and caused wooden beams in the ceiling to catch light in the first-floor kitchen. It spread – sending smoke billowing out of windows. Kentish Town firefighters – based just a stone’s throw from the pub, where many from the station relax after a shift – quickly had the blaze under control.

Mr Davies said: “They poured an awful lot of water into the extractor fan ducting to put it out.

“They needed to use a serious amount of water  – and in the end it brought the ceiling down.”

Mr Davies praised his staff – who have worked through the night to get the pub back open this week – and added: “It was like the Blitz. Everyone pulled together and we have had a lot of messages from regulars.”

Builders have repaired the ceilings, but the kitchens will be out of action for around two more weeks. 

Mr Davies, who also owns the Sir Richard Steele in Haverstock Hill, said he hopes the kitchens will be ready by June 1 – when Camra present his pub with a trophy for being the best real ale establishment in north London for 2010.