{"id":26839,"date":"2026-05-01T19:14:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T19:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/26839\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T19:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T19:14:15","slug":"liverpool-cathedral-blaze-tackled-by-firefighters-as-smoke-billows-from-tower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/26839\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool Cathedral blaze tackled by firefighters as smoke billows from tower"},"content":{"rendered":"

All visitors and staff were evacuated from the cathedral\"Liverpool<\/p>\n

Liverpool Cathedral cordoned off after a fire(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n

Liverpool Cathedral was evacuated on Friday afternoon after a fire broke out in the building’s tower. Smoke was seen billowing from the top section of the landmark, as crews from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) were called to St James’ Mount shortly before 2.50pm on May 1.<\/p>\n

Firefighters<\/a> confirmed the blaze had taken hold on the top-floor balcony of the tower<\/a> and was caused by an electrical fault. The main body of the fire was brought under control at around 3.22pm, with crews remaining at the scene to ensure the building was safe.<\/p>\n

Two fire engines and an aerial appliance attended, with firefighters seen working from the tower balcony. A cordon was put in place outside the cathedral’s entrance on Cathedral Gate.<\/p>\n

Staff and visitors were evacuated<\/a>, and members of the public were turned away after being told the cathedral would remain closed for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n

Carol and Liz, who were inside the cathedral caf\u00e9 at the time celebrating Liz’s birthday, said they were suddenly asked to leave. Liz said: \u201cWe didn\u2019t hear a fire alarm, but staff came over and told us to go straight away.<\/p>\n

\"Fire<\/p>\n

Fire at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral (Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n

\u201cI was halfway through my cake but they told us to leave everything. I\u2019m hoping I\u2019ll get another one when we go back in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m astounded to be honest. I keep thinking what was up there that could catch fire? It could only be electrical.\u201d<\/p>\n

A group of visitors from Tennessee, who had arrived in Liverpool as part of a cruise aboard the Majestic Princess, said they were unable to enter the cathedral.<\/p>\n

One woman said: \u201cWe came to visit, but were told it was closed because of a fire. We just hope it\u2019s something small; we\u2019d hate to see any damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group added it was their first visit to the city and they hope to return to the cathedral in future.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Liverpool Cathedral said: \u201cWe are aware of the fire at our site and apologise for any concern or disruption caused.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A cordon was put in place outside the cathedral<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working with the relevant authorities as investigations continue. The cathedral is now closed for the remainder of today.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thank the fire and rescue service for their swift response. We expect to reopen as normal tomorrow, although the tower will remain closed.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said crews were alerted at 2.44pm and arrived on scene within five minutes.<\/p>\n

They added: \u201cFirefighters responded to reports of a fire at the top of the tower, with smoke visible. Crews confirmed this was an electrical fire on the balcony at the top of the cathedral.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fire has been extinguished and personnel are working with onsite staff to isolate utilities and make the scene safe. This incident is ongoing and people are advised to avoid the area.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"All visitors and staff were evacuated from the cathedral Liverpool Cathedral cordoned off after a fire(Image: Andrew Teebay…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26840,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3569,12003,12002,5,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-26839","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-fires","9":"tag-hope-street","10":"tag-liverpool-anglican-cathedral","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116500920010844109","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}