A fire that destroyed a Dorchester café has been confirmed to have been caused by an electrical fault, according to the local fire service.
The Gorge Cafe fire cause was outlined by Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service, one year after the blaze ripped through the premises on South Street on 9 December 2024. The cafe was completely destroyed, with neighbouring properties also affected.
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service said: “The fire report states the most probable cause of the fire was a fault with an electrical item.”
The Gorge Cafe fire cause resulted in extensive damage to a Grade II listed terraced building. The property is of historic significance, having once been a place where novelist Thomas Hardy trained as an architect in the 19th Century.
Heat from the fire damaged one building to the left of the cafe and two to the right. Street bins were also left melted. Several weeks after the incident, the structure suffered further collapse, leading to the street being sealed off due to safety concerns.
Contractors have since removed debris and rubble by hand and are working to reinstate the neighbouring building. In April, part of the scaffolding was taken down to allow the high street, which had been closed since the fire, to reopen.
Faber and Jordan, the firm overseeing reinstatement works, confirmed that asbestos had been identified during the process. A spokesperson said: “This remains securely contained under rubble at basement level, poses no risk in its current state, and will be carefully removed by licensed specialists before reconstruction”.
The company has been involved in stabilising the site and restoring the fire-damaged properties on either side of South Street for nine months.
They added: “We continue to work closely with the loss adjusters, clients, structural engineers, designers, and licensed contractors to coordinate the next stages.
“At No. 38, works have now moved firmly into the reinstatement phase, with the structure secured and reconstruction underway.
“The remainder of the site remains complex, and safety on site remains paramount as we work diligently toward the timely reinstatement of these High Street buildings.”
