A Pembrokeshire business owner says she may have to permanently close her company after a major fire at the Waterston Industrial Estate, near Milford Haven.
Around 100 firefighters from across the region attended the blaze, which started on Sunday and was still smoking after 48 hours.
Christine Davies, owner of Teeni’s Wool Shop, says she has had all her stock ruined by the smoke, and has been forced to close her business, potentially for good.
“The issue was the smoke damage, not the fire itself,” Christine said. “It was the smoke which came from the fire which has damaged all the stock.
“There’s nothing you can do once those smells get into wool.
"Once smoke gets into it, it becomes smoke damaged and has to be destroyed. It becomes totally unusable, no matter what you do with it.”
Christine opened Teeni’s Wool Shop at the estate in June 2020, after years of being online.
“We grew very well during the pandemic and that gave me the ability to move into the shop and open so the locals could come in. I’ve been doing this for 10 years and we’ve got to a point which was good.
“We’ve grown even further recently after massive advertising campaigns over the last six to eight months that has really begun to bring new regular customers. It was growing as a new business.
“We’ve had wonderful support from the community, they have really taken the business to heart. It’s been a long time since there’s been a wool shop open in the Neyland area and they’ve been amazing with us.”
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After the fire at Waterston, which started right beside her shop, Christine has had to close the wool shop, and is unsure what will happen to the business in the future.
“I’ve had to protect myself, my family and the business, and that’s meant that we’ve had to close,” Christine said. “And whether we open again or not, really depends on whether or not I’ve got the heart to start again.
“I had to lay off my member of staff yesterday because I have no idea what the future will hold for the business.
“I can’t even fathom rebuilding it at the moment.”
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