Cuts in the fire service hindered attempts to douse the blaze that destroyed a hotel in Newquay, Cornwall at the weekend, killing one visitor. Two people remain missing.
Newquay’s Penhallow Hotel, part of the Holdsworth Hotels group, burned down on Saturday night.
More than 80 guests escaped the four-storey building. Four people were still in hospital on Monday.
The Fire Brigades Union said there were not enough firefighters to operate equipment, including water pumps, blaming reduced levels of staff cover. Other equipment, such as a high-level platform, had to be brought from Plymouth, 50 miles away.
FBU general secretary Matt Wrack complained of insufficient night cover and said: “There were not enough crews in the area.”
The Penhallow was used by Blackburn-based coach tour operator Robinsons Holidays, a sister company of Holdsworth Hotels.