Owner of fire-damaged Knutsford shop forced to trade from home

The owner of a popular home and gifts shop in Knutsford has been forced to trade online and from home after her premises was severely damaged in a mysterious fire.

The fire at Jenny O’Connor’s shop – called House Interiors and Gifts – took place on the morning of Sunday 2nd January. No one was inside the premises at the time of the fire, as Ms O’Connor had closed up for the Christmas and New Year break.

The fire caused extensive smoke damage to stock in the shop, which will have to stay closed until repair work can be completed and the insurance company have carried out an assessment. This means that Ms O’Connor will have to trade online or from home to make ends meet.

The cause of the fire is at present a complete mystery to both Ms O’Connor and fire service investigators. A spokesperson from Knutsford Fire Station has confirmed:

“It was hard to determine the cause and the investigation officer couldn’t find it out for sure,”

“We think it was an electrical fault but the damage to the shop was mainly due to smoke.

“It was a reasonably small fire and the crew did have to break in.”

It is not yet known what fire safety measures (required as part of a fire risk assessment for most businesses) were in place at the shop at the time of the fire.