I really felt for this family whose business was destroyed by a fire at the worst possible time because they had sunk every penny they had into the business. It was good to see the response from the local community response to their plight.

AN Easter Ross businessman recovering from major surgery has told of his family’s heartache after a devastating fire left his livelihood in tatters. 

Business owner John Smith, who has run Anything and Everything for the past five-plus years, was left counting the cost this week following the fire which ripped through the Tain premises he occupies. 

Mr Smith, who sunk all of his savings into the business, is awaiting the arrival of forensic investigators probing the exact cause of the fire. 

It is believed a faulty dehumidifier was the likely cause although Mr Smith acknowledges “everything is up in the air”. 

He said he did not know how long it would take to get any settlement from insurers and estimated that it would cost thousands to restock and restore the Lamington Street premises back into a workable condition. 

And he added that, as the business was the only income he relied on to provide for his family, he was unsure where their next meal was coming from as they have been left with nothing. 

Insurance assessors were expected to be meeting with the building’s owner, Peter Berry, to inspect the damage this week. 

When asked how long he thought it would take to get a settlement, Mr Smith said: “How long is a piece of string? Everything is still up in the air. I am trying to find food for my family – we’ve got nothing.”

The 45-year-old, who lives in Balintore with his partner Michelle Durrand and eight-year-old daughter Casey, said they had sunk every penny they had into the shop and predicted it would be a mammoth task to rebuild the business. He added: “It’s destroyed us – that was our whole life that went up in smoke in two hours.” 

The timing could not have been worse for him as he had undergone surgery to remove his gall bladder two days earlier and it was expected to take up to eight weeks to fully recover from the procedure. 

However, he was overwhelmed by the support they had received from residents since the disaster. He said: “A lot of people are saying they will help tidy up – there are a lot of brilliant people in Tain.”

Mr Berry has estimated the fire had caused up to £20,000 of damage to the shop which sells second-hand furniture and artefacts.

He said the dehumidifier was around six years old and the forensic investigators would be checking the make and model to see whether it had previously been linked to similar fires.

Mr Berry, who has known the family since they started trading in the town, said he had every sympathy for their situation and added: “My heart bleeds for the pair of them, this is their business, their sole business.”

He thanked everyone – friends, customers and well wishers – who had been “tremendous with their offers of support and help” and added: “It’s been fantastic.”

It is thought the blaze started in the downstairs area of the property and the alarm was raised by a neighbour at 6.20pm, on January 2.

Fire crews from Tain and Dornoch were at the scene by 6.25pm.

They evacuated neighbouring properties and worked for more than two hours to tackle the blaze, dampen down hot spots and ventilate the property.

Police closed the road for around two hours until the two fire crews left the scene just after 8.30pm.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman confirmed there were no casualties and crews left the area after making sure it had been made safe.

The downstairs area of the shop, through into the kitchen and the upstairs area are all smoke damaged.

From the North Star on  Thursday, January 9, 2020.