Tuesday 6 October 2020
Cactus growers
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Home on the range
Page 18
$1.5m tea towel blaze Matt Brown Reporter
matt@marlboroughmedia.co.nz
Feast fantastic Aaron and Isaac Piper from Cloudy Bay Clams are helping raise money for charity with a giant paella. Read the story on page 8. Photo: Paula Hulburt.
Tumble-dried tea towels are being blamed as the most likely cause of a blaze which caused about $1.5 million dollars of damage. Official investigations into the Forum fire in Blenheim have revealed hot tea towels likely sparked the fire. The town centre fire in February this year caused disruption, damage and heartache for several local business and left a hefty bill for building owners. But there was no definitive cause found. Emergency services were called to the CBD Café in February this year. Witnesses at the scene described billowing, black smoke coming from the popular eatery. The café and other businesses were closed at the time and no one was hurt. Building owner Toni Gillan says the consequences of the fire have been devastating. She says the building is still being remediated but in the meantime CBD Café owners, who declined to comment, had moved out. There were two fire investigations as well as an electrical expert brought in from Wellington to determine the cause of the fire, Toni says. The dozen tenants at the central development
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