‘I lost everything’

Kingscourt business owners counting the cost of fire

The stench of smoke lingered in the air outside Kingscourt Enterprise Centre, days after a horrific blaze scorched six businesses.

Reporter Michelle Taite visited the scene.

The fire, which took over the facility in the early hours of last Wednesday morning, left the livelihoods of engineers, beauticians, mechanics and more in ashes.

SL Modifications was one of the businesses that lost everything in the inferno. The garage, which was alive with mechanics renovating classic cars, is now in dark shadow. Skeletons of vintage Audis, Moris Minors and more stand, completely written off in the flames.

“That was 16 years of my job, 16 years, I built the garage, I built the spot, I built my name and everything was set up perfectly, it just worked,” says the Polish business owner, Mark Kasimierczak. “Everything collapsed. After two and a half hours, my 16-year job, gone.

“It just happened, nothing we can do, nothing.”

Some of the other business owners are searching for new facilities in which to operate, however this isn’t an option for SL Modifications.

“I have no money, I have no money to even start another business or something. I wait for what's happening with the investigation of the burning because it burned three, four, five, six units, completely gone.

“We are waiting for the investigations and hopefully, next week, I will have answers from my insurance company and will see what they say, what they cover and what money I will get.

“For sure I will not get money I spent in the garage. Three years ago I got insurance with Axa... Hopefully that will cover some of the loss.”

Also among the devastating wreck was Beauty & Tattoo by Anna Wojcieszek, which had been working out of the premises for eight years.

“I lost everything. I had the salon for eight years so actually, for my work, I lost everything I collected through the years. It is hard now to get everything again but, step by step, we’ll be fine.

"Shocking, i can’t believe that something like that can happen but, when it’s gone, we come back to reality and now I am looking for something new.

“It’s a big problem for me because everything is gone,” says Anna about the fire. “I’m devastated, I have to start again. But maybe the new one will be better, we’ll see.”

Anna has already started putting a plan in place to find a new premises to continue her work. “At this moment I’m looking in the locality to open the new business. I am waiting for good news.”

The blaze began at approximately 2.30am Wednesday, October 26. Fire brigades from Kingscourt, Bailieborough and Virginia fought the fire in difficult, blustery conditions throughout the night. The source of the fire has yet to be determined and investigations are continuing.

Due to the direction of the wind, one of the businesses, The Play Centre, escaped the wrath of the blaze relatively unharmed. The owner is now waiting for engineers to assess the damage to a “fire wall”, which separates it from the ruined establishments. However he is hopeful his business will eventually continue as usual.

Utter devestation is seen throughout the rest of the building, roller doors have fallen to the floor, areas of the roof collapsed in and the eerie theme of black and grey swallows up each affected unit. The week's torrential rain had mixed with the soot, coating everything in its path in a black paste.

“We had a serious fire here,” says Cllr Clifford Kelly who is chairman of the Enterprise Centre. “I hope the people who were here can find alternative accommodation until we see what we are going to do with this.

“Hopefully they will rise like a phoenix from the ashes.”