A FLOATING nightclub is to be centre stage for a sizzling "cabaret" act with a difference.
The spectacular billed for the Tuxedo Royale, early evening on Wednesday, could save lives.
A popular late-night venue for hundreds of partygoers, the vessel moored at Middlehaven, Middlesbrough, is an added responsibility for Cleveland Fire Brigade.
Long before revellers descend on the former ferry, fire fighters will carry out a major fire simulation exercise centred on the vessel.
The operation will focus on a fictitious fire in the ship's interior, which includes several bars. Crews wearing breathing apparatus will search for passengers missing in the blaze.
Middlesbrough Station Officer Sean O'Malley said: "The Tuxedo Royale is a former ferry which now operates as a floating nightclub in Teesside. It is our responsibility to make sure we are prepared for the unlikely event of any incident which may occur in a venue of this kind.
"The exercise we plan to carry out involves an early evening search of the ship, for passengers reported missing after a fire has been detected, using simulated conditions of diminished visibility."
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