Businesses damaged

Press, 8 March 1988, Page 6

Businesses damaged

Fire badly damaged a ■ storage warehouse and ; spread to two adjoining businesses in Harewood | late last evening. The * blaze, in Wooldridge Road, was noticed by firemen on duty at the Harewood station in nearby Wairakei Road at 10 p.m. Divisional Officer Tom Jack said the blaze, which took about 10 minutes to control, badly damaged the storage area. The fire damaged two adjoining factories, Leather Arts and Crafts and a kitchen joinery manufacturer, da Vinci Designs.

The owner of da Vinci Designs, Mr Leonard Frizzell, said his factory appeared to have been hit badly. He said he was fortunate in having only $2OOO to $3OOO worth of joinery on the premises at the time.

He estimated, however, his machinery to be worth

about $25,000. Damage to the leatherware business was not as severe.

The storage area at the centre of the blaze is believed to be used by Martyn’s Cycles ; and Mowers, and a Christchurch builder. Mr Frizzell said the storage area contained new bicycles and lawn mowers.

Firemen, who were expected to remain at the scene into the early hours today, prevented the fire spreading to a rental vehicle company, Adventure Vans. The blaze came within a metre.

“It came right up to the fire wall,” said the South Island manager of the Auckland-based company, Mrs Valerie Nicolson. She said she normally left six-berth motor homes parked in an area in front of the storage warehouse.