Lancaster’s Market Hall was wrecked by the blaze and took years to rebuild.
The tea-time fire on October 8, 1984, caused an estimated £3m damage.
Chatterbox Charlie, the mynah bird popular with hundreds of market shoppers, lived to tell the tale of his own ordeal.
A fixture in Mary and John Whittingham’s market pet shop, Charlie – along with Anthony the canary – was rescued by firemen at the height of the blaze.
Within a week of the fire, hundreds of people had put their names on a petition calling for the speedy rebuilding of the market hall.
Many years were to pass before a new purpose built market hall was to open.