"It could have been so much worse" - Todmorden's Hippodrome Theatre escapes with minimal damage after fire
The group in charge of Todmorden's Hippodrome Theatre say they had a lucky escape after a fire at the venue yesterday.
The fire was attended by crews within minutes of it breaking out, meaning there has only been minimal damage.
Steve Clarkson, Project and Development Officer at the theatre, said: "We got a call just before four o'clock yesterday afternoon and there was a fire in the roof space above the auditorium.
"Luckily, Tod Fire Service were there within four minutes because we've still got a fire station.
"They managed to contain it. We've got water damage in the auditorium but it's confined to the circle area, which is great because it could have been so much worse had they not got there in time.
"We're having a big extension built at the moment, but we know it was nothing to do with the construction of that, which was the big worry.
"It seems the most likely reason is it was an electrical fault.
"The lovely thing is it happened in the afternoon rather than the middle of the night, when there wouldn't have been a retained (fire) service, so we were very lucky it was at the time it was."
The theatre's next show opens on March 10, and have some behind-the-scenes tours taking place on March 4.
Steve says there is going to be some repair work to do but is confident it's not going to affect any of the events they have planned and the repairs will be able to take place fairly quickly.
"We're fully insured so we've no reason to think there's going to be a problem," he said.
"You always worry, even when you're insured, but it shouldn't be a problem.
"It's more the time it will take because there was a lot of water used, which has caused some damage inside, so we have to get rid of all the moisture and remove the damaged timber.
"It could have been a lot worse but it was definitely a scary day.
"The most amazing thing was all the support we've had from Facebook and people ringing us, messaging us to offer help or come in and clean, that's been absolutely amazing.
"It's nice to know in this day and age there's all that kindness out there."