A Fife garage owner says a devastating fire has caused £250,000 worth of damage and left his business in tatters.
John Maxwell has run Maxwell Racing Developments from his garage on Bow Street in Buckhaven for about 40 years.
But on Tuesday night it was hit by a huge fire, triggering a large scale emergency response.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service sent seven appliances to the scene at about 4.40pm with Bow Street still closed to the public the following morning and crews still on scene.
The fire caused significant damage to John’s business, damage he estimates at about £250,000.
The 63-year-old said: “We put six fire extinguishers on the flames and they wouldn’t go out and that was enough, so that’s when we decided to phone 999.
“In terms of how much damage is there, it’s needing knocked down. The whole place has to come down, so you’re looking at £250,000 [worth of damage].
“I’ve seen a few fires in my time but this one spread so quickly.”
As well as items and buildings, some cars in the garage at the time were also torched.
No one was injured and it is not known what caused the blaze, which took about four hours to get under control.
One of John’s customers paid him a visit on Wednesday morning following the fire, saying he was “heartbroken” to hear the news.
John works with road, classic and stock cars all over the UK, dealing with anything from engines and gearboxes to restoration.
He said: “I will survive, we will survive. It has been about 40 years I’ve been here.
“I built that place from the ground up, there was no roof on any of the buildings when I moved here, there was no electricity and there was no water.
“We built this from the ground, every bit I’ve put in myself.”
The fire also spread to neighbouring garage C&G Autos, which saw two buildings destroyed.
‘That business was his life…he’s just lost everything’
Matthew Green, who has run C&G Autos for six years, said he was sitting in his office when the fire took hold, and he and other employees salvaged as much as they could before the heat from the blaze became unbearable.
He said: “I’ve spoken briefly to Jock [John’s nickname] but that business was his life, he’s in a pretty shocked state about it all, which you can understand because the guy’s just lost everything.
“I think he’s still got parts of the building that are in one piece but that’s a big area he’s got there and the main centre area is the one which has got the biggest majority of the damage.
“I’ve asked the question as to what caused it but still no answer yet.
“It’s been handed over today to the fire investigation services and the CID.
“The fire investigation and structural engineer teams have been round to inspect the integrity of the buildings that caught fire. They’ve all been cordoned off, because obviously there are safety issues.
“We were here at the time it started, I was in my office and somebody said that Jock’s place was on fire.
“We came out and, lo and behold, the fire was possibly 20ft above the dividing wall. It was coming over onto our units at that time.
“I had just an automatic, knee-jerk reaction, just to get in and get as much out as possible as quickly as possible – and as safely as possible.
“We’re lucky in a way, because there were no injuries to person, out workshops are still operational, the office is still operational and the forecourt is still here.
“So we’re lucky we can still operate, albeit not entirely in full.”
Two of the four buildings in the C&G Autos forecourt were damaged in the blaze and may have to be demolished for safety reasons.
A dividing wall between the two garages and units directly behind it have been declared unfit and may also need taken down.
Matthew added they managed to get most of the vehicles and motorcycles out.
But he said the heat became unbearable so many items — including machinery and tools — have been lost to the blaze.
He added: “It’s a disaster, in all honesty, but it could have been a lot worse.”
He praised the firefighters for their commitment and said they were “flat out” tackling the emergency.
A Police Scotland spokesperson says inquiries into the fire are ongoing.
