Thomas Watson, father of one, may have saved the deserted Southend Pier from an inferno thanks to his quick thinking. On Friday at approximately 7:30pm, the 22 year old was walking near the pier with his partner and daughter when he noticed a small fire on the pier.
The sight of the fire alarmed Thomas so much that he knew he must act fast! He quickly sprung into action, using his own personal hosepipe to pee out the flames.
Mr Watson’s quick thinking meant that the fire did not have chance to spread and he managed to deal with the miniature blaze much faster than the fire services would have been able to, since he was already at the scene. The Essex fire department were called out to the scene but they explained that no action needed to be taken as the fire had already been dealt with.
Although the council thanked him for his quick thinking in saving the Southend Pier, they did point out that there is a sprinkler system installed on the pier that could have dealt with the fire.
As it happens, the sprinkler system wasn’t required and Thomas managed to save the longest leisure pier in the world from becoming a fiery inferno.
We can only hope that someone would have the same quick thinking and consideration should one of our own piers catches fire here in Blackpool.
