Accrington takeaway boss saw his life’s work go up in smoke
12:30pm Friday 17th August 2012 in News
By Emma Cruces, Reporter
AFTERMATH Workers clear the wreckage of the takeaway after the fire.
THE DEVASTATED boss of a disaster-hit takeaway, said he faces rebuilding his entire livelihood after watching his business burn to the ground.
The Sahad takeaway building on Accrington’s Blackburn Road partially collapsed into the street three weeks ago and on Wednesday night the building was destroyed by a major fire.
Lancashire County Council said the road is likely to remain closed until late afternoon today. LCC plan to reopen one side of the road today and install a temporary traffic light system to remain in place while the buildings are considered unsafe.
Owner Mohammed Masood said he was shocked to see the business he had taken years to build, disappear in a few hours. He anticipates the clean-up operation at the site alone is likely to take weeks.
He said: “It was a thriving business and we never had any trouble, it seems all our bad luck has happened all at once. The place is a mess. There’s nothing left. Just dealing with the clean up and insurance companies will take weeks if not months.
“I don’t know what will happen next. Who knows how long it will take to get the business back up and running?
“It took me 13 years to get to where I was and I watched it go up in smoke in just a few hours.”
People were evacuated from their homes and crews from across East Lancashire were called on to help tackle the blaze. Flames shot out from the roof of the takeaway and thick black smoke could be seen from as far away as Burnley.
A few weeks ago the front of the building collapsed into the street which also led to evacuations and a road closure. The road was closed off again from from Tanpits Road.
An investigation is underway into the fire but police have said it is believed to have started accidentally in a flue.
Comments(20)
Longside Bex
says...
12:53pm Fri 17 Aug 12
accy lad and proud
says...
1:01pm Fri 17 Aug 12
Your ferret stinks
says...
1:25pm Fri 17 Aug 12
harwoodlogic
says...
1:49pm Fri 17 Aug 12
Stuart Farquar
says...
3:30pm Fri 17 Aug 12
GIBUCK
says...
3:34pm Fri 17 Aug 12
ossybolt
says...
4:08pm Fri 17 Aug 12
scaffolding?
Izanears
says...
4:54pm Fri 17 Aug 12
Longside Bex wrote:Do they serve that as well?
If this isn't an insurance job, then I'll take back what I say and eat some humble pie.
Venomp
says...
7:16pm Fri 17 Aug 12
woolywords
says...
7:59pm Fri 17 Aug 12
My comment went along the lines that, given the short space of time between the collapse of the store frontage and this subsequent fire, I wouldn't be surprised if this shop was not open this weekend. My thinking was that this was a flue fire and not as it turns out, complete conflagration.
I wish to cite LT as to being the foundation of my proposition in that it open again within days. The poor quality reportage led me to believe that this was a minor fire that only involved a flue and not the entire building.
That aside, as if you could easily brush away such a calamity, I hope that Mr Masood would consider naming his next business Phoenix, as in something of beauty that rises from the ashes or better yet, Salamander.
Salamander is a grill used in the best of restaurants for cooking and is a legend in it's own right. Asbestos was sold to the Chinese as being Salamander wool because it resisted fire. Food for thought..
As I said before, and repeat here, as I'm sure that you are reading this, I wish you well for the future...
Babbar Divino
says...
10:49pm Fri 17 Aug 12
retired one
says...
11:35pm Fri 17 Aug 12
Falconer24
says...
6:35am Sat 18 Aug 12
Stuart Farquar
says...
11:00am Sat 18 Aug 12
Falconer24 wrote:Yup
This shop aint been open for years! Are people so thick that they cant see a claim
Chris P Bacon
says...
7:31pm Sat 18 Aug 12
Babbar Divino wrote:There's good news! His bad luck didn't continue, in fact, it reversed and became great good fortune. By an AMAZING co-incidence, he'd only just taken out a massive insurance policy mere days before this calamity befell him so he can count his blessings. The luck of some people, eh?
What bad luck Mohammed. I hope you bad luck doesn't continue because I reckon you'll be lucky not to go to prison for this. It would be interesting to know the details behind who actually owns the building and the insurance cover provided because of the collapse against the insurance cover if it burnt down.
retired one
says...
8:54pm Sat 18 Aug 12
Chris P Bacon wrote:Well if this is the case, it should be investigated by the insurers.
Babbar Divino wrote:There's good news! His bad luck didn't continue, in fact, it reversed and became great good fortune. By an AMAZING co-incidence, he'd only just taken out a massive insurance policy mere days before this calamity befell him so he can count his blessings. The luck of some people, eh?
What bad luck Mohammed. I hope you bad luck doesn't continue because I reckon you'll be lucky not to go to prison for this. It would be interesting to know the details behind who actually owns the building and the insurance cover provided because of the collapse against the insurance cover if it burnt down.
Sirrius7
says...
10:47am Sun 19 Aug 12
happiness
says...
9:23pm Sun 19 Aug 12
baxter
says...
6:14pm Tue 21 Aug 12
RUinsane says...
12:36pm Fri 17 Aug 12