The Penhallow Hotel fire was a suspected arson attack that occurred in Newquay, Cornwall in August 2007. Three people were killed and it was reported as the worst hotel fire in the UK in nearly 40 years.[1
][2] The hotel was a well-known hotel for holiday makers ranging from families to older residents. It had been built in Island Crescent between 1912 and 1917
[3] and had been altered more than once. The building had a wooden fire escape at the rear, and a central light shaft running from the ground floor up to the roof in the centre of the hotel. Both of these aspects of the building played a dramatic role in the outcome of the fire. Many of those that escaped the fire were elderly holiday makers.[4]