5 families down a weeks wages as result of fire at rear of cafe
By Aideen O'Flaherty
THE MANAGER of a café which was flooded and sustained smoke damage after a car was set alight to the rear of their premises has said that she is now playing a “waiting game” to see when the café will reopen, and when the café’s five employees can return to work.
In the early hours of Tuesday, May 22, a car was set on fire next to gas cylinders at the rear of the GK Café in Castletymon Shopping Centre, after only hours earlier Gardai had removed another car from the same location after it became apparent that unsuccessful attempts had been made to set the car alight.
When the café’s manager Martina Glancy showed up for work that morning and wasn’t able to get into the café, a worker from a neighbouring business told her about the blaze and she gained access to the café through their premises.
Martina told The Echo: “At that stage I didn’t realise there was smoke damage on the inside of the café, as the electrics weren’t working so I couldn’t put the lights on.
“The electrics have been repaired, but the kitchen is badly flooded, the floors and walls have smoke damage and it will all need to be refitted.
“A lot of it is salvageable, some areas need to be repainted, but right now there’s no sign of us opening up in the next few weeks – it’s a waiting game.”
A significant amount of the café’s stock had to be discarded as a result of the damage, as the electrics in the café’s freezers and fridges went out during the course of the fire.
Speaking about the people or person who set the car alight, Martina said: “They just don’t think of the other people that their actions affect, now five families are down a week’s wages.”
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