“We’ll be back,” the shopkeeper, who was destroyed by the fire, swears
The devastated owner of a shop that caught fire in Bettystown, Co. Meath last night has vowed to return to serve the local community.
We’ll be back,” said Pat Boshell as he stood in front of the burnt-out shell of his Centra store in the seaside village.
Firefighters spent the night trying to get the fire under control.
The fire was reported at the Market Square shop at around 10:20pm last night. It caused major damage to the building that also houses the local post office.
There is a snack bar next to the shop, the roof of which was also damaged.
Mr Boshell, who has been running the business for a number of years, was on site today to assess the damage.
“We have a good team and Musgraves has our backs too,” he said Independent.ie. “We have everything we need in the city and we will be back.”
Lorna Waters with her children Lucas (2) and Luna (4) who live next door to Centra in Bettystown, Co. Meath. Ms Waters described the fire as “terrifying”. Photo: Mark Condren
The contents of the shop were still smoldering behind the shutters that had been cut out by the fire department.
The crime scene remained cordoned off today pending a technical investigation to clarify the cause of the fire.
The remains of the burned out Centra in Bettystown, Co. Meath. Photo: Mark Condren
A witness who lives across a small alley from the store described the fire as frightening.
“It happened around ten thirty or eleven and it woke me up. At first it sounded like fireworks or something going off. Then we looked out the window and the shop upstairs was on fire,” said Lorna Waters, who was at her home with her partner and two young children.
“It was so scary. It was sort of under control at first, and then the whole back went up. I didn’t know if I should go or not because I didn’t want to panic the kids.
“Then around midnight there was a knock on the door and we were told we had to get out. It was terrifying.”
Gardaí said emergency services were still at the scene early this morning.
“After the fire has been extinguished, a technical investigation will take place to determine the further course of the investigation,” said a Garda spokesman.
Video footage posted to social media showed the building’s roof bursting into flames as the fire broke out.
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/we-will-be-back-owner-of-shop-gutted-by-fire-vows-41607477.html “We’ll be back,” the shopkeeper, who was destroyed by the fire, swears