Brighton: Royal Albion Hotel, Aerial 4K Drone View

#brighton#fire#sussex
The Royal Albion Hotel (originally the Albion Hotel) is a 3-star hotel, on the corner of Old Steine and Kings Road in Brighton, England. Built on the site of a house belonging to Richard Russell, a local doctor whose advocacy of sea-bathing and seawater drinking helped to make Brighton fashionable in the 18th century, it has been extended several times, although it experienced a period of rundown and closure in the early 20th century. A fire in 1998 caused serious damage, and the hotel was restored. However, another fire in 2023 seriously damaged the building to the extent that demolition of the western part of the building began on 19 July 2023.
On 15 July 2023, a fire broke out on the fourth floor on the hotel's western side. The East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service arrived at the scene at 5:24pm due to reports of smoke. The Old Steine and interlinking roads were closed with local bus services stopped. Smoke filled the area and by 7:02pm, people were advised to stay away due to health concerns and in case the building collapsed. At 8:30pm, the roof partially collapsed. The fire continued to burn throughout the night. By 1:10pm the next day, the fire had reached the bottom floor. Concerns over asbestos being released were raised as the hotel collapsed. By 11:00am on July 17, demolition crews had arrived, but were stopped due to complaints from a heritage group about preserving the Grade II listed facade. At 5:40pm, the Old Steine was reopened.Demolition of the gutted western side began on 19 July 2023, estimated to take two to three weeks to complete, but stopped two days later when more smoke was seen.

[@sharongamble6379]

Fantastic drone footage.

[@orcams15lf71]

I wouldn't be surprised if that fire was caused by faulty wiring. The hotel was a slum and I'm amazed the Environmental Health were never called to get the placed cleaned otherwise it would be closed down due to the hotel being a health hazard. A lot of the carpets and the walls were filthy with stains, wallpaper peeling off the walls, ceilings with mould and other marks, windows that were filthy. I wonder how many years ago that hotel last had a cleaner. You would need to wipe your feet as you leave so that the streets didn't get infected. Furniture was grotty and filthy, most of the furniture needed restoring with varnish where the varnish had been worn off, furniture with coffee rings on it, telephones not working so guests couldn't call for room service, taps in the bathrooms were filthy, dirt in the bathtubs, wonky beds and creaking floorboards everywhere. That hotel was a major health hazard from what I saw. This is why I wonder if any wiring was worn out or not fitted properly that might have caused the fire. When the hotel is rebuilt, I hope the owner that should be ashamed of himself/herself looks after the hotel the next time. A lot of care in that hotel was lacked and that is why it became the worst hotel.

[@Aprilsraven629]

This is old vision and not current...its was being demolished