A fancy dress business has paid out hundreds in refunds as the Speedwell fire meant cowboy costumes and Star Wars outfits could not be delivered on time.
Costumes R Us, based on Foundry Lane, was left undamaged by the major blaze at the Strachan and Henshaw Building in the same area on Friday, May 3.
But company owner Prasad John, 52, told Bristol Live yesterday (May 13) his online costume sales venture was affected indirectly.
He said: “When we turned up on Thursday [May 9], half the people had cancelled because they said you didn’t send a dispatch notification, so I refunded around £1,000 of orders because I couldn’t dispatch it.”
Mr John, of Kingswood, said he lost three business days due to the fire as he was unable to gain access to his building.
He finally got access last Thursday through a side gate, because Foundry Lane still had a police cordon in place.
New pictures show full extent of Speedwell fire
Reflecting on the evening of the fire, Mr John explained he was alerted to what was happening by a friend.
“My friend was staying close by the building on fire and they called me. So many people called me because they all know my business is here so I came here and saw the fire.”
Recalling his panic, Mr John said: “I was a bit worried because it could go anywhere. The fire was flying in the air so if any fire is in the air it could go anywhere.”
Apocalyptic scenes in Speedwell as new video shows aftermath of fire
Mr John, who has operated the business for around six years, stayed until around midnight or 1am, he said, talking to police as he waited for the fire to be brought under control.
As he spoke to Bristol Live this afternoon, Mr John said he could still see people on the road studying the damage.
“Ten to 15 businesses are fire-damaged on the other side,” he said.
“They don’t know what’s going to happen. We’ve lost a couple of days’ business here but these guys have lost everything.”
If you run a business that has been affected by the fire, please get in touch with Bristol Live through the following email address: andrew.mcquarrie@reachplc.com
