Demolition begins on fire-ravaged Bilston industrial estate
Owners of industrial units that were destroyed in a massive blaze may be one step closer to rebuilding their businesses, after work started to demolish the building's remains.
Flames rose more than 100ft into the air when fire raged through Unit 9 of Bilston's Stag Industrial Estate on November 20.
The fire caused the estate to come to a standstill, with dozens of workers sent home and more than 80 firefighters on site controlling the fire, many of them for up to 18 hours.
The structural damage caused was so severe that investigators from West Midlands Fire Service had been unable to enter the building's shell until yesterday's (TUES 23rd) demolition started, due to it being unsafe.
Five firms based at the site in Oxford Street saw their premises reduced to rubble, with the damage estimated to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. One business alone has been forced to come to terms with more than £50,000 worth of destroyed stock.
Eleazer Ikpeze, from Hill Top, West Bromwich, has been in limbo since the fire destroyed his business the All Appliance Centre, which he had run from the units for seven years.
As the fire service investigation was on hold and no cause of fire had been determined yet, Mr Ikpeze's insurance claim has been affected and he is unable to salvage his business until it comes through: "I hope today might be the end of all of the speculation and waiting and they finish their investigation of the cause of the fire so we know where to go from here.
"At the moment I have not been doing anything, I can't do anything without money. I had no money stashed away for savings and stuff - whatever I make is paid back to the business, that is why the business has been growing."
The uncertainty and loss of business means this Christmas has been particularly hard, he said, and he has been unable to buy gifts for his family.
Mr Ikpeze, 41, has lined up a temporary site in Darlaston which he hopes to have up and running early next year, and plans to retain as many staff as possible.
The business employs nine people full-time and five temporary staff.
He said: "I will do whatever I can to make sure everyone is happy. It is really difficult, they all believe in me and they all love working there."
West Midlands Fire Service spokesman Matt Smith said the log on the fire had been re-opened yesterday when it was safe for crews to be back on site. They are still investigating, but it is hoped they will know the cause of the fire by next week.
