Drone footage revels devastation at Wigan's former Jumpin Jak’s as fears emerge blaze could have been avoided
The owner of several Wigan town centre clubs and bars says a major blaze at an abandoned night spot which threatened to spread to one of his own businesses may have been avoided.
Michael Pagett claims that if it turns out that the fire which engulfed the former Jumpin Jak’s venue in King Street, Wigan on Saturday night was caused by intruders, then council and police failures to act on complaints about break-ins there in recent months will be to blame.
But the local authority says it is restricted in what measures it can take, and says that the principal responsibility for keeping properties secure lies with its owners.
What led to the inferno – which was tackled by dozens of firefighters, six engines plus an aerial ladder platform from Bolton, an enhanced rescue unit from Ashton-under-Lyne and a drone – has yet to be decided as investigations continue.
But Mr Pagett has little doubt that either squatters trying to keep warm or someone deliberately and maliciously starting a fire were responsible.
His Reef Bar and Terrace are next door to the fire-hit building and had to be evacuated of staff and customers as the blaze risked spreading, although fast acting fire crews and the wind blowing in the right direction spared the premises, thankfully.
He said: “First and foremost, I’m so glad the staff are all safe. They evacuated according to plan and training and they kept their spirits high so well done team.
"The fire on Saturday night had the potential to end our business. Luckily the wind was in our favour, we have a solid fire plan and GMFRS did a fantastic job of bringing the fire at Jak’s under control and stopping the spread of the fire.
"We’re indebted to the bravery and efficiency of the men and women of the fire service - they saved our business.
"However, the same can’t be said for Wigan Council. Week in, week out for months now we have been reporting to both the council and the police that Jak’s is unsafe and that youths and vagrants continually break into the building, create mess and cause damage and nuisance.
"Every month at Pubwatch we bring it up and we’re met with ‘we try not to prosecute kids’ from the police and ‘they’re the usual suspects’ from Wigan Council central watch.
"The council continually said ‘it’s the landlord’s responsibility’ or ‘it’s down to the building owner.’
"Well no - it’s not that clear cut is it! If the building owner isn’t meeting their obligation to keep safe the building then the police and council have a wide range of powers available to them from enforcement orders to closure orders.
"When we brought this up with the council we were met with ‘it’s not a cost we’re willing to foot.’
"Well the cost has been far higher now! Seven fire pumps, an aerial platform, incident support, God knows how many police, ambulance, doctors and specialists on the scene: this cost in resources must be far higher than a single closure order would’ve been.
"I feel this is neglect on the council’s part. That’s not to mention the cost to businesses.
"The council’s inability to act has cost us – Baby Platinum, Sash Bar, Ibiza Bar, Le Mousse, Popworld, Kebab World and Godfather – a whole Saturday night’s trade.
"This might not sound like much, but hospitality across the country is on the brink of extinction and losing a Saturday night could finish us off.
"Now is the time for the council to stop telling us how to do our jobs and start doing their job!
"Otherwise, how many more of these major incidents will it take before accountability becomes a thing?”
King Street remains closed to traffic because of safety concerns from the ruined building, including the danger of more falling tiles, shattered hundreds of which are already on the pavement.
A Wigan Council spokesperson said: “Officers have been working with building owners and the community on King Street, investigating options including legal enforcement powers to get this building, and a number of others, secure and safe.
“Whilst we have been trying our best to work with building owners, it is important to note that the owners are ultimately responsible for keeping their buildings safe and secure, even when vacant, and there are limited legal powers at the disposal of local authorities.
“Our team were on site at the weekend supporting Fire and Police services and a huge thank you to them and blue light colleagues for their work and ensuring everyone was safe.
“We will continue to work to proactively find solutions, looking at emergency powers to ensure the building structure is safe, enabling us to open King Street as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Greater Manchester Police have been contacted for a response to Mr Pagett’s comments.
In the meantime officers have appealed for witnesses and those with information about the fire and specifically its cause, to come forward.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 0161 856 7094, or via our LiveChat on https://orlo.uk/gJnHJ quoting reference number 3375 of 22/11/2025.
Alternatively contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
Fire crews, not just from Wigan borough stations but also Horwich, Rochdale and Lancashire were at the scene for 11 hours, the blaze having first been reported at around 10.30pm on Saturday night.
The flames were reported to have been doused by 3.50am the following morning.
Thankfully there were no reports of any injuries.