History relived, history lost

An inquiry has been launched after a room pertaining to the Mediterranean Film Studios was gutted by fire on Sunday afternoon - shortly after the historic 100-ton cannon at Fort Rinella was fired in the vicinity.

Experts are trying to establish whether the fire was sparked by the cannon, which formed part of a battle re-enactment organised by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna.

Firefighters fought for half an hour in an attempt to bring the blaze under control, but the fibreglass building was eventually destroyed by the flames, according to eyewitnesses.

Photographers Aaron Benjamin and Luke Darlow who were watching the re-enactment said they saw a spark in a building by the waterfront shortly after the cannon was fired.

They called security personnel and the fire brigade was summoned. By this time there was thick smoke coming out of the building and flames could be seen through the windows.

At one point a luxury yacht had to be towed away along the waterfront to protect it from the blaze, according to the photographers.

Designed by eminent Victorian English engineer Sir William George Armstrong the monster cannon used to fire a one-ton shell up to a distance eight miles.

FWA chairman Mario Farrugia was adamant that the fire had not been sparked by the cannon.

"It was a controlled explosion and we never had any problems with this cannon. The fire was probably caused by some short circuit," Mr Farrugia said, adding that the room had nothing of value.

However, a spokesman for Mediterranean Film Studios said the room had been used as storage for archived documents since the filming of Raising the Titanic in 1980.

"The financial losses might not be massive but we lost a lot of history in that room. Although we need to wait for the court experts to establish the facts, firemen have found the remains of the cannon cartridge on the room."

The spokesman said he believed the northwest winds were responsible mainly for fanning the fire. Pyrotechnic experts who spoke with The Times said the gun would have been loaded with black powder (which is essentially like charcoal) and some of it may have failed to ignite immediately but continued to smoulder.