Nearby residents raise health concerns after influx of smoke

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10: Residents and businesses near the fire-ravaged HWP car showroom and workshop yesterday spoke of their fears as their homes were hit by clouds of smoke.

Antoine Holder, who runs his own electrical business, lives opposite HWP’s St John’s Road site in Pembroke, which was destroyed by fire on Monday afternoon.

He said: “I wanted to check my roof last night for deposits, but the heavy rain we had will have washed anything that was there straight into the tank. We might have to go and buy bottled Pure Water — I don’t know if anyone from government can come and check the water to see if it’s safe.”

Mr Holder said he was also worried about his health and that of his family because of possible toxins in the thick clouds of smoke — and asbestos released as the building collapsed in flames.

Chemicals

“I was right here in that environment — I had a bad headache and I hope that had nothing to do with it. There are all sorts of chemicals in a place like that and asbestos in the building as well. I worry about the potential effects on my health.

“Luckily, my two children were at summer camp — I wouldn’t have liked them to have been exposed to all that smoke.”

Karolina DeCosta, 30, who runs Rowe Spurling paints with husband Justin right across the road from HWP, said: “We saw a lot of smoke and the fire started getting more aggressive. We just grabbed our back-up tapes and computers in case the fire spread to us and ran.

“We were fortunate because the smoke and flames blew away from us — the solvents and a lot of the paints we have are flammable, so we couldn’t stay.

“It was just too dangerous and we were worried about the safety of our staff.

“The fire service and police did an amazing job when you think about the size of the fire and the location. They should be commended.”

Dawnette Gilbert, who lives in Woodlands Road, in the path of Monday’s smoke plume, said she had been asleep as the fire raged.

But she added: “My bedroom window was open — there was an oily, greasy deposit on my sheet and bedspread. It’s quite worrying to think I might have been breathing that in.”

Michael Davis, who also lives on Woodlands Road, said: “I shut all the windows as soon as I heard about the fire. We were just on the edge of the path of the smoke.

“I could smell it, though and I’ve got asthma – it definitely flared that up.”