https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-67835079

Firefighters have been called to a blaze at Blackpool Tower.

Flames were spotted in a metal section close to the top of the Lancashire
seaside resort's iconic landmark.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) have six fire engines at the
scene, while Lancashire Police are also in attendance.

People have been told to stay away from the area.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be
published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTTDGLhatxM

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/12/28/blackpool-tower-on-fire-latest
28 December 2023 • 7:09pm

Blackpool Tower ‘fire’ just orange netting blowing in wind, say police

--------

Everyone looks thick now but it wouldn't have been the first time a
historic building went up in flames.

On Thu, 28 Dec 2023 19:22:40 GMT
TWP <ngspammersad@yahoo.com> wrote:

> https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/12/28/blackpool-tower-on-fire-latest
> 28 December 2023 • 7:09pm
>
> Blackpool Tower ‘fire’ just orange netting blowing in wind, say police

<quote>

"One man has been arrested on suspicion of Breach of the Peace and is being transported to custody."

When asked by Sky News, the force declined to say why the man was arrested.

</quote>

I don't know whey the plice are reporting this arrest.

It might become a re-run of the Bournemouth tragedy when police arrested a man on suspicion of manslaughter when there seems to have been no crime or intent involved, seized a boat which wasn't involved.

It seems 'needing to be seen to be doing something' is the police's prime directive even if nothing needs to be done.

In article <20231229002721.0000535f@ntlworld.invalid>,
The Happy Hippy <the.happy.hippy.nntp@ntlworld.invalid> wrote:

> I don't know whey the plice are reporting this arrest.

There are many things you don't know, dumbfuck.

On Fri, 29 Dec 2023 00:27:21 +0000, The Happy Hippy wrote:

> On Thu, 28 Dec 2023 19:22:40 GMT TWP <ngspammersad@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/12/28/blackpool-tower-on-fire-
latest
>> 28 December 2023 • 7:09pm
>>
>> Blackpool Tower ‘fire’ just orange netting blowing in wind, say police
>
> <quote>
>
> "One man has been arrested on suspicion of Breach of the Peace and is
> being transported to custody."
>
> When asked by Sky News, the force declined to say why the man was
> arrested.
>
> </quote>
>
> I don't know whey the plice are reporting this arrest.
>
> It might become a re-run of the Bournemouth tragedy when police arrested
> a man on suspicion of manslaughter when there seems to have been no
> crime or intent involved, seized a boat which wasn't involved.
>
> It seems 'needing to be seen to be doing something' is the police's
> prime directive even if nothing needs to be done.

If he put the netting there he might be guilty of causing alarm or
whatever the wording is. They should give him the bill for the fire
service time. I think it was £400 per fire engine when I was in hospital
in the 80s. They kept burning the toast in the morning. I really wanted
to know what £1,600 toast tasted like but I don't think any of us got any.

That'd be about £4,250 now. No wonder the NHS never has enough money.
The hospital got four fire engines, Blackpool tower got six so that'd be a
fairly hefty fine. Might have to sell his orange netting to some crazy
person.

On Fri, 29 Dec 2023 13:41:34 GMT
TWP <ngspammersad@yahoo.com> wrote:

> On Fri, 29 Dec 2023 00:27:21 +0000, The Happy Hippy wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 28 Dec 2023 19:22:40 GMT TWP <ngspammersad@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> >> https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/12/28/blackpool-tower-on-fire-
> >>
> latest
> >> 28 December 2023 • 7:09pm
> >>
> >> Blackpool Tower ‘fire’ just orange netting blowing in wind, say
> >> police
> >
> > <quote>
> >
> > "One man has been arrested on suspicion of Breach of the Peace and
> > is being transported to custody."
> >
> > When asked by Sky News, the force declined to say why the man was
> > arrested.
> >
> > </quote>
> >
> > I don't know whey the plice are reporting this arrest.
> >
> > It might become a re-run of the Bournemouth tragedy when police
> > arrested a man on suspicion of manslaughter when there seems to
> > have been no crime or intent involved, seized a boat which wasn't
> > involved.
> >
> > It seems 'needing to be seen to be doing something' is the police's
> > prime directive even if nothing needs to be done.
>
>
> If he put the netting there he might be guilty of causing alarm or
> whatever the wording is.

The arrest does suggest netting was placed deliberately but they offer no evidence that it was.

The police seem to be fuelling conspiracies that there's more to this than there seems to be, that they in fact have someone responsible in custody, and that's not right.

Th media are quite capable of promoting their own made-up shit without needing the police to do their job for them.

I have no problem with members of the public asking 'is that on fire?' calling the fire brigade in case it is. The question for me would be how long was it from the call to finding it wasn't on fire, how it became a confirmed story that it was on fire from merely suspicion it might be.

There's a question as to how anyone thought there was such an extensive fire without there being any smoke at all but I still wouldn't criticise anyone calling the fire brigade, getting expert opinion.

On Fri, 29 Dec 2023 15:16:05 +0000
The Happy Hippy <the.happy.hippy.nntp@ntlworld.invalid> wrote:

> > If he put the netting there he might be guilty of causing alarm or
> > whatever the wording is.
>
> The arrest does suggest netting was placed deliberately but they
> offer no evidence that it was.

It appears the safety netting had been placed during ongoing renovation works, so nothing malicious about it.

It seems some people let their imagination run a little wild -

https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2023-12-28/blackpool-tower-caught-on-fire

<quote>

One witness said ... "You can smell smoke down on the street and see what looks like flames coming from where I think the viewing platform is."

</quote>

Unless this witness, or whoever called the fire brigade, have been arrested for being mistaken it's not clear who the Police arrested for Breach of the Peace, what the breach amounted to, why they even mentioned it, how it's related.

In fact it seems it's actually not related. Merely that, during the investigation. police had cause to arrest someone who has now been subject to a Mental Health detainment.

So, just unhelpful and unnecessary information provided by the police as was the pattern in Bournemouth. It did nothing but confuse the situation and prompt unwarranted speculation, just as it did in Bournemouth.

The police are meant to calm things down, not stir them up.