THE determined owner of business units gutted in a devastating fire has vowed to rebuild and says work is already underway.
A large fire ripped through business units at Bury End Farm off Rectory Road in Upton on Saturday with nine of the 25 units destroyed, causing an estimated £750,000 of damage in total.
When we visited work was already underway with Andy Milner, who works for Ross Tudge Fencing and Landscaping, laying the ducting for electrical cables.
The atmosphere is one of sadness after the ravages of the fire but also determination and hope as all concerned pull together to get the industrial units back up and running as soon as possible.
Richard Organ, the owner of the site, said work was already underway to get businesses back on their feet and, from what he had learned so far, he did not think arson was the cause of the blaze.
The 78-year-old said he was on good terms with all his tenants and said all the businesses 'wanted to come back' despite the fire.
"I feel sad for them. I invited them into my home for Christmas drinks last year, every one of them," he said.
He said the units were all locked up at 10pm each night and CCTV showed rabbits near the site before the fire which were only startled when the roof began to cave in and 'gave a crack' because of the blaze. Indeed, his wife had to let firefighters inside so they could tackle the blaze because it had been locked up.
Mr Organ, who has owned the units for the last three years, understands the fire began in a unit selling bike parts. Electricity has already been restored to those units not directly affected by the fire.
He explained he was fully insured in terms of the buildings he owned but that the contents insurance was the responsibility of his tenants who rented the units from him.
"This Friday quotes are coming in to rebuild it. I bought it on November 22 three years ago and, since then, we have turned it all around and kept moving it forward," he said.
He added: "If it wasn't for Christmas, we would be back up on March 1. We're hitting the ground running. That's what we're here for, getting everyone back so they can earn money. I want the businesses back on their feet, earning money. They're all decent people with families and mortgages."
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At the time, Simon Cusack, group commander of Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue, said the fire was significant in size.
He added: "At around 5.30am, we received multiple calls from the local community alerting us to a large industrial fire.
"It was in a unit of around 60 by 40 square meters - quite a significant size.
"We mobilised three fire engines initially - the first arriving in six minutes.
"They alerted us to the severity of the fire, and we sent four more engines."
An investigation has now been launched into the incident."
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