A SKYLIGHT probably saved the lives of Julie Savage’s employees at The Three Crowns pub, in Brink-worth, when a fire broke out in the kitchen.

The pub’s kitchen has been out of action since the early hours of Thursday, July 24.

Now Julie is ready to relaunch the kitchen with an event on Sunday August 24 which will include a hog roast, a bouncy castle and an unconfirmed brewery in attendance from noon.

A fireman at the scene of the fire said the lives of two staff living above the kitchen were almost certainly saved by a roof window in the kitchen which allowed the flames to escape.

The exact cause of the fire is still to be determined.

A chip pan fire was ruled out by Julie, who said the firefighter said it might have been sparked by a faulty socket.

“It was just in the washing-up area of the kitchen,” she said.

“The firefighter said it would have been fatal if it wasn’t for just above the area, where there is a Velux window.

“Our problem after the fire was that our electricity wiring was melted. There was smoke damage too, but it’s all cleared up now.”

Julie lives off-site, but one of her employees, who lives at the pub, irst heard the fire alarm shortly after 3am.

She said they assumed it was a false alarm and went to turn it off, but were met with thick black smoke behind the kitchen door.

Julie was called shortly after the emergency services. “I felt really sick,” she said. “I didn’t get a lot of information over the phone, so you assume the worst.

“There were two fire engines there when I arrived. I could hear the fire alarm going off.”

In the three weeks since the fire Julie and her team have balanced repairs in the kitchen with keeping afloat a pub which has no income from diners.

“It’s been difficult because I’m not taking food,” she said.

“We are a country pub with a restaurant, but after this I think we are more of a restaurant, given the money we’ve lost.

“I wouldn’t want to take the country pub away from the village though – it wouldn’t be fair to simply call it a restaurant.”

  • For information on the relaunch contact the pub on 01666 510366.