A shopkeeper whose village shop was gutted in a blaze says the fire ‘won’t kill us off’.
16 fire appliances descended on Marshfield High Street after 999 calls reporting flames emerging from the roof of a terraced building at around midday on Wednesday, 31 August.
Firefighters managed to contain the spread to three properties that comprised of two houses, Central Stores and the hairdressing salon Image Hair Design.
“A young lad that lives behind ran round, called the fire brigade and told the girls they needed to get out the shop”, co-owner Rachel Finnie told Wiltshire 999s.
She added: “We’re just lucky. We’re devastated that it’s gone, we’ve had the shop 20 years. It’s heartbreaking – but we didn’t lose anybody; the fire won’t kill us off.
“The support of the village, everything they’ve done for us, is just incredible. We’ve had so much support.
“We couldn’t have done it without them. Even the firefighters couldn’t believe how everybody just came together; we’re loved very much and we love all our customers.”
Rachel owns the shop with her sister Sally Flint, and both have spent today (Thursday., 1 September) setting up a new village store across the road – inside their other shop, County Stores, to ensure their elderly and vulnerable customers have access to supplies.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but it’s believed to have started in the roof.
As reported yesterday, firefighters struggled to tackle the flames due to water access issues and low water pressure in the area – hampering their efforts.
