Southsea's South Parade Pier was originally opened in November 1879 but in 1904 a serious fire destroyed the structure, and it had to be rebuilt. The new Pier opened in 1908 and had an uneventful history for the next sixty years, even surviving the heavy bombing of Portsmouth during the Second World War. In 1967 another fire severely damaged the Pier and the theatre had to be removed. In June 1974 it was ablaze yet again when a spotlight set fire to some curtains during the filming of the rock opera Tommy. The fire soon spread out of control, requiring several hundred actors, staff and extras to be evacuated from the scene. Over 100 firemen fought the blaze, their task being made much harder by strong winds and the Pier's largely timber constrution, but they successfully stopped it from spreading to the rest of the Pier. I wonder if they've ever thought of installing a sprinkler system!

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