DETERMINED shopkeepers have promised to return to business “as quickly as possible” after a devastating fire ripped through the front of their Andover convenience store.
Mayur and Nilam Patel, owners of The Saxon Fields Store on Kiel Drive, have said they even plan to postpone their 25th wedding anniversary celebrations in order to get their shop up and running again.
The couple, who have owned the store for nearly seven years, were woken up shortly before midnight on Monday to the terrifying news that a fire had broken out inside their shop.
The shocked pair, who live near to the shop on Saxon Fields, raced to the scene to see multiple fire crews attempting to tackle the blaze.
(Police investigate the cause of the fire)
Firefighters battled the flames for over an hour, evacuating the four flats above the shop and containing much of the damage to Mr Patel’s office.
An investigation followed the next day with police later declaring the cause of the fire to be an electrical fault.
The devastated couple have since inspected their shop and now say they are working “as hard as they can” to quickly re-open for their customers.
Mr Patel, a father of two, said: “It was very shocking when we saw the fire.
“We’ve never had anything like this happen to us so it came as a big surprise.
“Most of the damage was to my office but I’ve lost all of my computers and over six-and-a-half years of paper work.
“We are now fighting against time to get back to work as quickly as possible.
“We are not going to give up, we will carry on trying to reopen any way we can.”
The couple, who were due to begin their 25th wedding anniversary celebrations at the beginning of May, have even promised to postpone the festivities as they want to celebrate the milestone with their customers.
They have also expressed their gratitude to nearby homeowners and shoppers, many of who have offered to volunteer their help and money.
Mr Patel said: “We can’t thank people enough.
“The amount of support we’ve had has been unmeasurable.
“The day after we had people coming to give us teas and coffees and asking us if we were all right.
“Something like this shows how much you mean to people in the community.”
Mr Patel added: “We will stay positive – the main thing is that nobody was hurt.
“Damage is fixable but a loss of life is not.
“The emergency services were brilliant.
“We are so thankful.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here