Restaurant owners ‘devastated’ by fire

The owners of a restaurant that caught fire on Saturday morning have said they are “devastated”.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) said it was called to the Dorset Burger Company building on King Street in Weymouth at 07:38 GMT on Saturday.

In a statement posted on Facebook, owners Emma Cogan and Ross Kay said everyone was safe but the restaurant would be shut until further notice.

DWFRS said 60 firefighters attended, but that the incident was being scaled back as of 10:20.

Around 25 people from neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution, according to area manager Antony Bhola.

“We’re just working with building control now in terms of checking the stability of the roof and the hope is we’ll be able to get the residents back into their properties sometime soon,” he said.

In the statement, Ms Cogan and Dr Kay said they arrived on Saturday morning to find their building was on fire.

They thanked people for their messages, and said the emergency services had been “brilliant”.

According to the restaurant’s website, the building is a former eye hospital, built in 1871.

The DWFRS spokesperson said crews from Weymouth, Dorchester, Portland, Bere Regis, Maiden Newton, Wareham, Bridport, Charmouth and Yeovil were in attendance.

They said there was a no flying zone for drones over the area until further notice.

Bus services have been affected, with operator Damory saying the CR8 route would be affected for most of the day because of road closures.

King Street was closed and access to Weymouth Railway Station restricted.

Mr Bhola said they were now “on top” of the fire and looking to reopen the road as soon as possible.