The garage hopes to reopen in a temporary location soon
A TYRE shop that burned down in a fire on November 8 is making plans to reopen.
“We are looking for another place now,” said Topline Tyres owner Sajjad Anwar.
The business needs temporary premises while the building on the original site is rebuilt.
The garage on Seawall Road in Tremorfa was doing well despite Covid restrictions in the weeks before the fire.
“It wasn’t so bad … we have so many loyal customers,” said Mr Anwar, praising them for helping to keep the business going despite the pandemic.
However, they have since been unable to operate as their building was completely destroyed. The fire service believes the blaze was started deliberately.
The fire started at about 6.51pm on November 8, 2020 and required over 80 firefighters with a range of specialist equipment. It was brought under control overnight but firefighters remained at the scene as a safety precaution until 3.29pm on November 10.
Topline Tyre’s lack of a building is not the only challenge they still face.
“Financially as well it’s a big setback”, said Mr Anwar. He said the company lost everything in the fire, and needs to gather funding before they can restart.
They are also waiting on the response of their insurance company so they are unsure when exactly they will be able to reopen.
Mr Anwar said the fire put his staff out of work and he has tried to help them find jobs elsewhere. However, he remains optimistic that they will be able to return once the tyre garage reopens, as some have worked for the company for many years.
Mr Anwar said he understood that South Wales Fire and Rescue Service had discovered that the was started from outside the building.
“”That’s what they know so far,” he said.
A spokesperson for the fire service said: “A fire investigation remains ongoing and at this time the supposed cause is as suspected to be deliberate.”
