Burgess Hill Town Football Club fire: team hope to resume playing at stadium by end of January

The fire service was called to the clubhouse on Maple Drive at 9.22am on Tuesday, December 20.

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service said four fire engines attended the blaze, which was of accidental ignition, and firefighters wearing breathing apparatus located the fire on the ground floor, which they then extinguished.

The football club reported ‘extensive smoke damage’ to the building, as well as issues with burst pipes caused by recent cold weather. They said the clubhouse would remain closed until further notice.

In a January 8 update on the club’s website a spokesperson said: “Our aim is to be open and to start playing at the MTT by the end of January.”

In the meantime Burgess Hill Town Football Club said they would play their next home game against Chicester City FC at Three Bridges FC on Saturday, January 14, at 1pm.

The spokesperson said: “We temporarily closed the clubhouse due to flooding in the men’s toilets and home dressing room areas caused by burst pipes prior to our postponed game against Cray Valley on Saturday, December 17.

“When we were repairing the pipes, we were alerted to smoke coming from the beer cellar behind the kitchen area. The fire brigade were called and dealt with the issue caused by a drinks dispensing machine overheating – causing a lot of smoke damage to the cellar and kitchen. As a safety precaution, the fire brigade switched off the electricity and water mains.

“We met with our insurance broker and the appointed insurance loss adjuster and it was agreed any repairs could not be done in time for our game on January 2nd. We had no alternative than to ask permission from the league to reverse the fixture with Three Bridges. We are now in a position to start the repairs to locate any further burst pipes and then we can deal with the electrical damage.”

Visit bhtfc.co.uk for further updates about the clubhouse and more information about Burgess Hill Town Football Club.