Fire Breaks Out in Buckingham Palace

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, June 03, 2002

Fire Breaks Out in Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace was evacuated Sunday night after fire broke out in a roof void in the East Gallery, 24 hours before the second Golden Jubilee concert was due to take place in the Palace grounds.

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Buckingham Palace was evacuated Sunday night after fire broke out in a roof void in the East Gallery, 24 hours before the second Golden Jubilee concert was due to take place in the Palace grounds.

A thick pall of smoke hung over the Palace as firefighters battled to bring the flames, which leapt out of the roof, under control. After 90 minutes the fire was brought under control. Buckingham Palace pledged that Monday's pop concert, in the presence of the Queen and senior members of the Royal Family, would go ahead.

Hundreds of people, including some of the biggest names in the music industry such as Phil Collins and the chart-topping group Atomic Kitten, were ordered by the police and security guards to abandon their rehearsals.

No members of the Royal Family were in the Palace when the alarm was raised at 6.42pm. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, who were at Windsor Castle, were described by aides as "deeply concerned". The Queen was kept fully informed by her officials as to the progress of the firefighting operation.

The fire was discovered in the roof of the East Gallery, above a large corridor that leads from the ballroom to the State Room.

The fire brought unhappy memories of the blaze at Windsor Castle in 1992, the year the Queen described as her "annus horriblis". Initial reports of the Windsor fire described it as minor but damage costing GBP 60 million was inflicted on the castle, which was only recently restored.

Concern was heightened Sunday night because a large collection of fireworks was being kept at the 330-room palace in preparation for the finale of Monday night's concert starring Tom Jones, Sir Cliff Richard and The Corrs. Brian May, The Queen guitarist who will be playing, said that everyone had responded calmly to the order to leave.

The authorities were unable to give any indication about the scale of the damage. Some reports suggested that the fire had damaged a storeroom containing valuable antiques and paintings.

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