Norwich scouts staying positive despite suspicious fire

A blaze which destroyed a number of canoes and kayaks at a scout hut headquarters in Norfolk last Sunday afternoon is not stopping the scout leaders from continuing with their summer activity programme.

The fire which damaged the venture hut and groundsman’s hut at 16th Norwich Sea Scouts in Costessey is believed to have been started deliberately and firefighters are currently working with local police to determine the cause of the blaze.

Four fire engines from the Norfolk Fire Rescue Service were required to tackle the blaze and firefighters had to ensure that gas cylinders were removed from the building.

The chairman of the scout troop Andrew Irving said:

“It’s fairly extensive damage. We have lost our venture hut and our groundsman’s hut. More devastating is that we lost all our canoes.

“Fortunately it is just the outbuilding and the main headquarters building is useable and is unaffected by the fire itself.”

The scouts are now going ahead with their summer events including a barbecue fundraiser on the 24th of July. However, the scouts have still requested support from the local community in order to recover from the fire.

Mr Irving added:

“We can still offer canoeing activities through other groups in the area but it makes it a little bit more difficult.

“The important thing is to make sure the activities continue as best they can. What we really need is support from the local community, and we would need that whether we had had this unfortunate event or not.”

The scouts are hoping that money from the fundraiser and other donations will be able to help the group continue to function effectively and improve the current facilities.