Bideford Meeting fire

Friends from Bideford Meeting in Devon have asked Quakers to hold them in the light after a fire broke out at its Meeting house

Friends from Bideford Meeting in Devon have asked Quakers to hold them in the light after a fire broke out at its Meeting house.

A young girl was rescued from the first floor by members of a local choral society who heard shouting coming from the building on the evening of 27 April. Firefighters arrived and managed to rescue her father through the window using the fire engine ladder.

The fire is thought to have broken out on the ground floor. Nobody was hurt.

Pip Harris, local development worker (West Somerset, Devon and Cornwall) for the Vibrancy in Meetings pilot programme, said: ‘Because of the damage downstairs, the Meeting won’t be able to meet there for a long time but we have found an alternative venue. The trustees are working hard with the loss adjusters and we are working on small things like temporary signage for the temporary home and putting a library together because the books were damaged.’

A forty-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. He has been released pending further enquiries.

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