A NOWRA laundromat was destroyed by fire on Thursday night.
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Firefighters were called to the Uptown Laundromat in Worrigee Street at 8.33pm.
On arrival the building was fully alight.
Fire and Rescue NSW station officer Mark Kroon said firefighters entered the building and quickly brought the fire under control.
“On arrival it was fully involved but hadn’t spread to the adjoining buildings,” he said.
“Our initial concern was that the fire had spread through the ceiling because of the amount of smoke coming from the nearby Chinese restaurant’s roof.”
Mr Kroon said there was no fire damage to the restaurant or the computer repair business next door.
Nobody was injured and the Nowra Palace Chinese Restaurant was evacuated when firefighters arrived.
Mr Kroon said after he and police spoke with the laundromat owners, further investigations would not be necessary.
Jesse Lorenz from the Nowra Palace Chinese Restaurant called triple-0 after smelling smoke.
“I was nearing the end of my shift and smelt smoke. It’s not the first time that laundromat has been on fire and I thought I should check.
“I went down to have a look and just saw flames through the window. I phoned triple-0 straight away.”
Ms Lorenz said it wasn’t long before smoke was billowing from the roof of the restaurant two doors up.
“The last time I looked in the restaurant window I could see smoke coming out of the light fittings.
“It was a big fire and the
windows of the laundromat exploded,” she said.
Restaurant owner Sue Hickey, who took over only three months ago, said she was lucky to still have a business.
“I was terrified. We were lucky because it probably would have only taken a few more minutes to spread to our building. It took off so quickly,” she said.
Mrs Hickey said she expected the restaurant would be open again by Saturday.
In the shop next door to the laundromat, Ken Mackie’s computer repair business was closed down by the fire.
“None of our equipment or our customers’ equipment was damaged but we will need a new building.
“We’ve been here only four months,” he said.