About 100 tonnes of whitewood from the Baltics has been destroyed at a Devon timber merchants in a suspected arson attack.
Firecrews were called to West Country Timber at Butterleigh Sawmills, near Tiverton, at about 1am on June 13.
Crews managed to save buildings on site, with help from a water carrier from Exeter, which had been drafted in because of poor water supply in the rural area.
Landlord Simon Caudwell, who rents part of his former sawmill site to West Country Timber, described the fire as “terrifying”.
He said: “It was a very close thing. The fire brigade saved the building rather than the wood.”
Meanwhile, the last stage of the winding up of Mr Caudwell’s sawmilling business is taking place, with the milling equipment being packed into containers and shipped out to Siberia to be used in a new sawmill operation.
Simon Caudwell, managing director of Butterleigh Sawmills, said: “After 26 years of sawmilling I’d had enough. I would have preferred to have sold the business as a sawmill but no-one was interested in it.”
Mr Caudwell, who described the closure as “sad” and a difficult decision, said the business had been profitable though increasing regulation had been a source of pressure.
The company stopped milling six months ago and the 16 staff have already found other jobs in the sector.
Mr Caudwell is now renting out various parts of the site to businesses, including merchant West Country Timber and an imported furniture operation.
