by Ed Davies
The owner of a caravan centre, which was gutted in a fire causing £1 million in damage, has thanked his local community for rallying together following the blaze
Phil Davies, CEO of Highbridge Caravan Centre, said he could not thank the fire service and local community enough for their help after the business burst into flames last weekend.
The fire, on October 1, saw dozens of fire crews mobilise to the incident, at 1.38am, after worried calls from members of the public reporting that they could see fire coming from some trees opposite a pub.
Fire crews battled for several hours to extinguish the blaze after gas cylinders on the site started to explode and the fire spread rapidly across the caravan site.
A spokesman for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said that the cause of the fire remains undetermined.
“Everyone has been really supportive, people have done extra days, even coming in during the fire,” Mr Davies told the Bridgewater Mercury.
“Staff came in on their day off to help us as well as the local community and neighbours.
“The local community in Highbridge were great, there was a real sense of community spirit.”
He commended the fire service for their efforts and for doing an amazing job containing the fire.
“When they arrived the fire was spreading towards our workshop and to avoid it getting damaged they created a wall of fire engines between the displays and the workshop,” added Mr Davies
“The brigade did an amazing job containing the fire, I am just glad that they are alright.
“They were still here for most of Saturday, putting out fires that has restarted again and making the site safe.
“Overall, around 160 caravans have been destroyed and initial predictions suggested in excess of £1million worth of damage was done but it could be more than that.
“It will become more clear once the assessors are finished finding out the exact cost of the damage.”
