Did worn-out wiring cause Palace blaze?
An electric heater could have been to blame for Monday’s fire at Buckingham Palace, insiders said yesterday. The heater had been brought in to dry out a carpet after a pipe leaked in the footman’s room where the blaze is thought to have started. Some staff said the heater was left unattended, but there were also suggestions that dangerously old electrical wiring could have been responsible. One source said parts of the sprawling building were still fitted with old round-pin sockets and ageing circuitry desperately in need of replacement. The Palace worker added: ‘I’ve seen sparks and flashes and it always looks dangerous. I don’t know a lot about electrics, but I can tell what doesn’t look right. People have been saying for a long time there was going to be a fire.’ Police and fire brigade investigators were said to be still probing the cause of the blaze which broke out in a roof void above the East Gallery at the rear of the Palace. It prompted the first evacuation of the building si
