Owner of Audek Timber Products Charles Mossop told TTJ that he had personally thanked Paul Steele after the retained firefighter saw smoke rising from the company’s Hollybush Sawmills site near Hexham early in the morning on February 7.
Mr Steele called firecrews, who attended and fought the blaze before staff arrived for work. The early intervention meant the fire was not more serious.
Mr Mossop said 160m2 of roofing and one part of the building was damaged, while 7-10 tonnes of wood was destroyed, including some oak his late father had used to make furniture.
Engineers have been contacted to check the extent of damage to machinery, which includes two Stenner resaws and three cross-cuts. “With a bit of luck the machinery could be salvageable,” Mr Mossop said.
He estimates production of fencing and pallet components could restart again in three to four weeks, but customers such as BSW Timber and Scott Timber have signalled their support.
“Every one of our customers said they will wait for us to start producing again,” he added.
Mr Mossop said initial checks had revealed the suspected cause of fire to be an electrical fault in an extractor system serving a kiln used to dry kindling.
