GEORGE NEWS - A fire broke out early this morning, Friday 21 October, at a coffee shop and restaurant in Meade Street, Caloroso Roaster & Eatery.
Caloroso had to close its doors for now, but should be open for business by the start of the holiday season.
The George Fire Department was alerted to the fire by tenants who live on the first floor of the building.
“Our security guard let the tenants know, and they contacted the fire brigade at 03:00. They were here almost immediately,” said business owner Kelvin Appelgren.
It seems that the fire started at the point of sales area, behind the counter, where the UPS (uninterrupted power supply) was situated.
Both Appelgren and the owner of the building, Wilhelm Fourie, said the cause of the fire might very well be overheating of the UPS. “It is typically something that happens with frequent load-shedding,” said Fourie.
“I am really devastated. I’ve been through this before,” said Appelgren, who lost a restaurant in 2014, The Tin House near George Museum, due to a fire started by vagrants. “Luckily the physical building is still here, but it will take time to clean everything up. The ceilings, walls, floor – everything will have to be cleaned up and painted. My hope is to reopen in time for the season.”
Municipal spokesperson Chantèl Edwards said the cause of the fire is unknown. “Forced entry was required in order to access the fire to prevent it from spreading further.”
It seems that the fire started at the point of sales area.
It seems that the fire started at the point of sales area.
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