At the bottom of Mumbles Pier sits a large, unremarkable looking rectangular-shaped building. Older generations will likely remember this unassuming building when it was the rather more vibrant Cinderella's nightclub, with long queues of boys and girls outside and the maker of many relationships, marriages and plenty of tom foolery inside.
In those days, it wasn't uncommon to see people - so determined to get into Swansea's premier night time venue - scale the cliff face which rises steeply to the rear and try and sneak in the back. You can get more Swansea news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
But on Wednesday morning, the rear of the building is thought to have burst into flames and fire subsequently ripped through part of it and onto the grassy bank behind. Dark grey smoke billowed into the air as the fire took hold and could be seen for miles right around the Mumbles coastline and beyond.
Fire crews from all over south Wales and as far afield as Merthyr and Cardigan rushed to the scene after they were called just after 11am. The greatest fear was that the fire would rip through the adjacent buildings and onto the iconic pier itself, which first opened in 1898. Thoughts of the whole thing burning down, taking the popular arcade with it, were hardly far away.
The pier was closed off, roads were shut and access to the beach beyond was restricted as emergency services fought to bring the blaze under control for more than eight hours. Under a deep blue sky and with the grassy bank tinder dry due to the current drought conditions, it was undoubtedly a challenge.
In Mumbles itself, thick smoke turned the air acrid and residents were advised to keep their windows closed for the afternoon.
It was a sad sight for the former nightclub, which closed for good in late 2005, early 2006. Fred and Bert Bollom, third-generation owners of Mumbles Pier, said that as a family they were "devastated". They said: "We are still trying to understand the cause of the fire, but we believe it started to the rear of the former Cinderella’s building and spread throughout the row of buildings on that side of our complex. Thankfully, the pier itself and the arcade appear to have escaped any damage from the fire."
Also thankfully, there were no injuries, but there has been significant damage to the buildings. By late afternoon the fire was contained, along with the main concern that the blaze would not spread onto the pier. Even so, disruption continued for many residents and businesses in the area. South Wales Police said it would continue to work with the fire service at the scene. It added that Mumbles Road was closed and motorists were advised to avoid the area. Local footpaths were also sealed off due to the danger of the fire spreading and from smoke.
The pier owners added: "First and foremost, we are incredibly grateful that no-one was injured today. This is in no small part due to our wonderful team who pulled together, kept calm and worked quickly to ensure everyone left the site safely. We want to sincerely thank each and every one of them.
"We also want to express our gratitude to the emergency services, particularly the fire service and police, for responding so quickly today. We will continue to work with them in their investigations and we will keep our customers updated about our situation in due course."
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