A MECHANIC whose Wombwell garage was destroyed by fire almost ten years ago is still struggling to rebuild his life.
Bruce Riley was awoken in the night in December 2008 to be told the Total 4x4 garage which he owned on Pitt Street was on fire.
As many as 30 firefighters tackled the blaze. It was initially thought to have been linked to four arson attacks on vehicles within 30 minutes of the car workshop fire, but Bruce said insurance investigators subsequently told him a P38 Range Rover with an electrical fault was to blame.
Bruce, 59, who lives in Epworth, has since suffered mental health problems, been left with debts, and has now been declared bankrupt.
He told the Chronicle he still suffers both physically and mentally after the ‘brutal and soul destroying’ fire.
He said: “I was forgetful, and had no confidence. I lost two stones in weight because I just forgot to eat. It wasn’t a case of not wanting to eat, but your brain is so transfixed with what’s happening.
“I didn’t even know to go to a doctor for help, because the last thing you want to believe is that you are crazy. I was not diagnosed with anything, but that’s what I’m trying to do now. I’m actually trying to sort myself out and I’m going to see a psychiatrist to see if they can help and confirm that I have been ill.”
The events of that night in 2008 are etched in Bruce’s memory.
He was woken at 2am by a phone call telling him his garage was on fire.
When he got there at 3am, he was told by the chief fire officer the fire was out.
But a few hours later, after hearing and feeling a slow rumble, Bruce said the garage roof lifted slightly, as if in slow motion, before tumbling inwards releasing a massive fireball which rose 300 feet in to the air.
“I couldn’t move. I tried to but I was frozen. I couldn’t breath and gasped for air. It took every bit of concentration I had to stop myself shaking and ring my wife. She answered but I couldn’t speak. I managed to say ‘it’s gone’”
He struggled to accept the garage, which had been his life, his job, his wage and his children's future, was gone.
“Everything I lived for, everything I fought for and built over 30 years exploded and burned to the ground in front of my face. Nothing in my life hit me like the explosion, it left me helpless, afraid and beaten.”
Bruce said his insurance policy was valued at £340,000 to cover the business but after eight months, he was only paid out £202,000. He said he felt the business was undervalued and that his insurance company should have had it professionally valued.
He said: “Having worked seven days a week, and countless 18-hour days for the better part of 30 years to build up a good business I’ve had many debts and always paid them - until my business was lost in a fire. I did not make this debt, I did not cause the disaster.”
The garage had to be demolished and a section of the land where it stood was sold by the bank to help clear Bruce’s debt.
Bruce is now working with receivers to put together a plan to sell his assets.
He had been working from a garage erected at his home but has had to stop after complaints from a neighbour.
“I still find things difficult, it’s still a struggle. I don’t own anything any more, the receivers own everything I’ve got. That’s taken ten years.”
