Fire
Camera phone picture of the Cutty Sark ablaze. On 21st May, 2007, the Cutty Sark caught fire and was reported by the BBC to be completely ablaze. The extent of any damage is not known but there is concern that it may have affected the framework of the ship. The fire was reported to the fire service at 04:46 AM by members of the public. A representative of the fire brigade said at 7:09 AM that the fire was well under control and that damage was extensive but until the experts can make a full damage assessment survey, it is unknown just how much has been lost. The fire was declared by a journalist on site to have been out at 07:21, with most of the wooden structure in the centre having been lost.
In an interview with the the chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust it was revealed that at least half of the "fabric" (Timbers etc) of the ship is not on the site due to it being dismantled for the preservation work and that they are most worried about the iron framework around which the fabric are attached.
Aerial video footage at 7:22 AM shows extensive damage but seems to indicate that whilst damage is extensive the ship as a whole has not been destroyed in its entirety. The bow section looks to be "relatively unscathed" and the stern also looks to have survived without major damage. The fire seems to have been concentrated on the centre of the ship, one journalist commented that "you can see right through from one side to the other" however no one currently on site knows just how much had already been removed for the preservation work
The latest reports confirm that 50% of the ship was not on the site. Of the remaining material on site (approx half of the ship) around 80% of that has at least been damaged.
Currently the cause of the fire is unknown but is being treated as suspicious by the authorities.
At 8.20am the British Firebrigade confirmed that a molatave cocktail was thrown into the ship at about 3.00am hightening the suspicions that this was the work of arson. The firebrigade did however stress that all possibilities were still being investigated.
I checked them on and off since I started this thread and we were ahead of them most of the night. They might have even pulled some of their stuff from us.