Carvers set to rise from the ashes of devastating blaze
It has been almost 30 months since the Carvers warehouse was destroyed by a devastating blaze, but as these pictures show, the £5.5 million project to redevelop the site is nearing completion.
The warehouse on Little's Lane near Wolverhampton city centre was ravaged by fire in February 2012, with plumes of black smoke spiralling a hundred metres into the sky.
Henry Carver, owner of Carver's Building Supplies, fought back the tears as he sent staff home.
The thought of ending the story of his family business there and then never crossed his mind despite a backlog of records kept inside the warehouse to document the company's 117-year history being destroyed.
Once it was confirmed that nobody was hurt, his mind looked to the future.
The final touches to the all new Carvers building, designed with a long and prosperous future in mind, are being made.
Two hours was all it took for the landmark to fall to the ground but this was never going to be the end of the story.
Two years, £5.5 million and countless hours of construction work are what it has taken to restore the building and Mr Carver believes it will be better than ever.
"We are now within touching distance and everyone is in a really positive mood," he says.
"If you look at the site now compared to the state it was in two years ago, it shows just how far we have come.
"It is great for the staff to be able to see everything take shape after the amount of hard work that has gone into the project."
In the initial aftermath of the fire Mr Carver said: "We can take a little bit of happiness in that no one has died.
"We are very sad, I'm sad for everybody."
His despair was understandable and his words rang true.
The situation could have been much worse were it not for the heroic efforts of fire services from all over the region.
Nearly 100 firefighters tried to tame the blaze but there was never any doubt it would completely destroy the huge building on Little Lane, such was its ferocity.
A 660ft cordon they installed prevented further damage to the surrounding area, blocking the route of the flames from reaching nearby liquid petroleum gas tanks which were stored on site.
It was nearly a week before the crew given the task of dampening the flames could even contemplate leaving.
Outside of the warehouse grounds, the local community were dealt with problems of their own.
Around 700 students were evacuated from the high-rise student village Victoria Halls and Woden Primary School had to send its students home.
Homeowners near the school in Springfield Road forced to retreat indoors due to the heat.
The leader of Wolverhampton City Council, Roger Lawrence, was travelling back to Wolverhampton via train at the time and remembers the impact of the incident clearly.
He said: "We were not allowed to get out at Wolverhampton station and I had to leave at Birmingham.
"It was a hugely significant day for the area and I imagine it was absolutely devastating for the family and the company."
Despite the positivity and vision of Mr Carver, it was hard to look through the wreckage and see how the warehouse could be back in the near future.
Overnight the companies focused changed from minor tweaks to the building, such as the new roof installed just two weeks earlier, to an urgent and dramatic renovation.
Carvers were forced to start from scratch.
The mammoth regeneration project started immediately when Wolverhampton-based McAuliffe Civil Engineering Group brought down the remains of the warehouse, offices and showrooms to prepare the site for what was to come.
Such was the scale of the devastation; the demolition itself took nearly six weeks to complete.
During the re-build many of the staff employed at the time were farmed out to the firm's other premises, a timber merchants in Neachells Lane, Wednesfield.
Business didn't slow down either, with customers still able to gain access to the site to use a temporary showroom and drive-through warehouse that were erected while the work took place.
Councillor Lawrence was keen to praise Mr Carver for his efforts to keep as many people as possible in work despite the setback.
He said: "Obviously as a council we contacted them to show our support and we tried to help them through the planning process as quickly as possible due to the unfortunate circumstances.
"It was clear that Henry was committed to keeping the business going and more importantly keeping as many of his staff as possible in work.
"This may not have happened had Carvers been a big, multi-national company and this is an honourable achievement."
Established in Willenhall in 1896 by brothers Harry and Horace Carver and the backing of their father John, Carvers Building Supplies was a perfect example of a successful traditional family business in a city famous for its work ethic, industrial output and rich community spirit.
Through hard work, fine service and a commitment to providing work for locals, the company put itself into the tapestry of Wolverhampton.
Outside of its notable contribution to the local economy and jobs market, the company strived to help community events such as the Wolverhampton Marathon prosper.
There was concern that the first marathon to take place after the fire would be cancelled as a result of the fire, with Carvers being the primary sponsor of the yearly race.
These fears did not materialise however and the race went ahead with the 15th consecutive year of support from Carvers.
The marathons committee chairman Mary Harding said: "After the devastation of the fire it is just wonderful that Carvers have finished rebuilding their warehouse.
"It is truly amazing how they managed to keep everybody employed throughout the rebuilding process and I wish them the very best of luck in the future.
Now with the restoration of the new warehouse complete and Carvers ready for business in 2014, the company hopes to provide yet another example for other local companies to follow in the future.
The ambition before work began that they wanted to create a 'builders village' and they have achieved this goal in style.
The new 80m by 50m building will house the main Carver showroom, trade counters, offices and warehouse, and will feature a new concept builders' village, housing specialists from window, roofing, electrical, tiling and decorating companies.
The firm's carbon footprint will be reduced by the installation of LED lighting, eco cooling and solar energy.
Speaking just before work to rebuild the warehouse began, Mr Carver said: "When the fire happened it provided an opportunity, desperate as it was, to think about how we could do things differently.
"Our new building will have different franchises on offer.
"We certainly hope however that having to rebuild after something like that is a once in a lifetime experience."
Councillor Lawrence believes that the reduced carbon footprint is a good indicator that the new building will be just as successful as its predecessor, if not more.
He said: "The new eco friendly building is something we whole-heartedly support and there are already regulations in place to ensure any new business's that follow suit are built in a similar way in the future.
"The whole project of getting the warehouse back up and running again must have been a thorough task and I hope things have turned out as they wanted.
"The previous building was never the prettiest but it had a lot of history.
"I'm sure the new building will be more pleasing to the eye and create a unique history of its own."
All signs seem to point towards this prediction coming true over the next few years.
The ambition, drive and passion shown by everyone involved in stabilising the business and rebuilding the warehouse since February 29 2012 has been inspirational and this is a story that will live long in the memory for Wolverhampton residents.
It has taken 889 days to repair the damage caused by the fire that brought Wolverhampton to a standstill but the future can now start for Carvers.
