A business owner whose workshop went up in flames when a fire broke out at a neighbouring unit has been forced to shut his company down.

Simon Marsh, who has run SJM Coachworks in Medway for more than 30 years, lost everything in the massive fire at Hoo Marina in September.

To make matters worse, he had reduced his insurance level to save money and when the coronavirus crisis hit trade decided he couldn't afford to upgrade meaning total loss of his business was not covered.

The public liability insurance did not protect the contents – including the thousands of pounds worth of tools – or loss of income and Simon now regrets not having enough cover to save his business.

Simon's panel beating and car paint and bodywork shop was next door to the Nettex unit which burst into flames at about 4.30am on September 4 forcing hundreds of people to be evacuated from their homes.

The 51-year-old said: "What has happened has completely wiped me out. I've been in business for 30 years plus and it's all just gone.

"I could have scraped it if it was partly gone. But I didn't have tool loss or loss of earnings cover.

"Everything has been a bit tight this year and I tried to cut a corner. I never thought in a million years this would happen and to that extent.

"It only went up because I didn't have it [full insurance]. I don't know if that's Sod's law or just bad luck."

He's now decided he cannot afford to restart the business and has had no income since the blaze.

Simon, of The Chimes, Hoo, feels he is owed compensation as the fire was caused by an electrical fault in a fridge in the Nettex unit, fire investigators confirmed.

The fire spread and ignited gas bottles stored in the factory – produces animal health, performance and nutrition products – leading to an inferno which took firefighters two days to fully extinguish.

He said he has not received an apology from Nettex since the initial incident and things have "gone cold".

Footage of the devastation

"I spent 30 years building it up and a fridge freezer took it out but it was their fridge freezer," Simon added.

"If it was me responsible for the fire, I'm sure they would be coming for it off me."

CCTV footage captured by neighbouring businesses shows how the fire spread rapidly within minutes.

Simon's family knew he would normally get to work early but on the morning of the fire he was woken at 7.15am by his brother-in-law knocking his door to be told about the fire.

He had several missed calls on his phone from his mum and sister worried that he had been to work and then couldn't get hold of him.

Simon's mum, Ann, said she feared the worst had happened as thoughts rushed back to when her other son died in a car crash in 1992.

But after calling them to tell them he was safe, Simon headed down to the fire but couldn't get close enough to see if his unit had been affected due to the firefighting activities.

"I saw some photos the fire service had taken and thought 'blinking heck'. Customers started worrying about the cars and were phoning me asking questions but I just didn't know.

"It was like a bomb site down there. I just kept saying sorry to people but I don't know why because I didn't cause it.

"I'm not saying if was in work I wouldn't have survived but it would have been a different story."

On the day of the fire, customers were due to pay him £1,200 for work he had done but because of the fire destroying four cars inside the building he never received any money.

Although Simon says he's "lucky" to have some savings, he's had no income since the fire and expects the cash to run out within two months.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by his family while Simon gets back on his feet so he can pay his bills raising £1,144 so far.

He has enrolled and is working towards completing an online training course to become an electrical appliance engineer and has completed a module for washing machines.

Simon is retraining to set up as a sub-contractor for major manufacturers but says his money will run out before reaching the point where he's built up enough knowledge to go into business.

"Every other company down there was affected but they are all trading again except us.

"I've got to do something and the money is running out. I'm not asking for millions but I've lost my livelihood and it wasn't my fault."

A spokesman for Nettex said: "The details of everyone who has made contact with Nettex as a result of the fire have been passed over to our insurers who are processing the information.

"Communications will then be made with relevant parties as soon as it is appropriate to do so."

uk.gofundme.com/f/simon-marsh-sjm-coachworks-fire-disaster-fund

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