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Camden blaze has destroyed everything I worked for
Benedict Moore-Bridger, Evening Standard12.02.08
One of the traders hit by the Camden Market blaze said today that she has lost her entire business and more than £500,000 in the Camden Market blaze.
Denise Dare's two shops and a market stall - about 7,000 square feet of retail space - were destroyed as the massive fire swept through the market on Saturday night.
Ms Dare, and her partner Ari Papagiannis, had spent 18 years running clothing outlets which include After Dark Fashions and the adjacent Goth and Punk, as well as a large indoor market stall.
Ms Dare, who is in her forties, said she had been left "devastated" by the fire, after seeing the extent of the damage for the first time yesterday. She said: "Everything has gone. All the business stock, our display stock, everything in our storage area. It's more than £500,000 worth. I was hoping we would not be affected but all that remains is black ash. The police took us round on the high street and we saw the front of our shops. They were blacked out, the floors collapsed - they were gutted.
"I had built myself up until I was able to get the two shops about six years ago. I loved it. Now it has all gone." The shops, which sell clothing, lingerie and make-up, are two of 300 businesses affected by the fire - 35 of which have been seriously damaged.
The trader, who calls her businesses "her second home", learned of the disaster just moments after closing for the day.
She said: "The flames were shooting up through the roof into the air. It was burning like you would not believe. We did not expect to see a fire so big and burn everything down so quickly. We were just devastated."
As well as shops and market stalls, the fire also wrecked the Hawley Arms, a pub used by stars such as Amy Winehouse and Kate Moss. Winehouse dedicatedwinning her Grammy awards to Camden on Saturday.
The London Fire Brigade's investigation team began yesterday by interviewing witnesses. The cause of the fire could remain unknown for days because structural engineers still need to assess the safety of some of the buildings before they can be inspected.
Reader views (4)
I think you'll find a lot of the real residents of Camden would like to see the same shops back. A lot of which were not selling "cheap" tat.
I for one would like to see After Dark rise from the ashes, rather than have it replaced by H&M, TopShop, or some other mainstream bastion of the clone.
- Jock, London
Actually Camden should rise from the ashes like the phoenix and return to it's former alternative glory. There is nothing squalid about Camden High Street; it's only those who don't properly appreciate the underground/alternative culture that choose to disagree. I agree only on the part about the drug-dealers. Nobody needs those.
- Wiggle, MK, England
Hope she had insurance. I'd rather see an area full of unique, indpendent shops then another street filled the same chains as every other high street in the UK.
- Jonathan Thomas, USA
Whilst I sympathise with those whose businesses have been affected, I do think the fire has at least rid us of part of what is a squalid stretch of road. Shouldn't we now take the chance to refashion an area full of shops selling cheap tat to tourists, junk food outlets and drug dealers into something that we, the local residents actually want?
- David Jenkins, London, UK
