Fighting Hull’s Royal Station Hotel Blaze and the Wedding Dress Rescue
A heroic firefighting effort in Hull saved guests and a wedding dress during a massive hotel blaze
Hull, UK, Fire, Wedding Dress, Mint Imperials
Hull: On the night of October 7, 1990, a huge fire broke out at the Royal Station Hotel. It was a chaotic scene, with nearly every fire engine from Humberside Fire and Rescue Service rushing to help.
The fire, caused by an electrical fault, raged for 11 hours. Thankfully, all 140 guests and staff managed to escape safely. One of the firefighters, Paul Gee, shared his wild experience from that night.
Paul, who was a part-time firefighter back then, recalled how they were initially called to provide standby cover elsewhere. But soon, they were redirected to the hotel fire. When they arrived, the situation was intense, with 30 fire engines already on the scene.
Paul and his colleague, Mike, were sent to check the third floor for any remaining guests. They found a beautiful wedding dress lying on a bed and decided it needed to be saved. They called for help, and a station officer took it from them, later getting all the credit for the rescue.
As they moved through the hotel, they encountered locked doors and had to kick them down. They found rooms in disarray, with belongings scattered everywhere, which made them chuckle at some of the odd items they discovered.
Things got serious when they saw a big red glow from a fire door. They were told to evacuate, but the ladder they used to enter was gone. They had to find another way out, eventually making it to the roof of the railway station.
While searching for an exit, they stumbled upon a boiler room with a jar of mint imperials. They couldn’t resist grabbing some for a quick snack. When they finally made it out, they found some British Rail workers playing poker, completely unaware of the chaos around them.
After a long night, Paul and Mike were finally able to take a break. They went to a nearby café but were shocked to find apples priced at a pound each. They laughed it off, realizing they had no money on them, but joked they could pay with mint imperials instead.
Paul, who now runs fire safety training courses, still remembers that night fondly. He and Mike occasionally catch up and share a laugh about the mints they kept finding in their gear for weeks after the fire.