Bridal bouquet saved from blaze
Florists - 10/07/2006 12:05:42
A bunch of bridal flowers was one of the few items to remain unscathed after a serious fire at an Essex shopping centre in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Firemen from the 15 crews deployed are yet to establish the cause of the blaze, which gutted an estimated 70 shops and businesses in Colchester's Cowdray Centre and forced an eight-hour operation to bring the flames under control.
However, the Fire Brigade took drastic action, battling through the sparks to salvage a wedding-day bouquet from florists Flowers by Anne Goldschmidt, which had been ready for delivery to a ceremony yesterday.
A spokesman for the fire service told the Sunday Mirror that this was "one nice aspect" to an event that has threatened to bring a major blight on the town centre.
Mike Hardingham, the chief fire officer who manned the efforts against the blaze, told the BBC: "Large sections of the building's roof have collapsed and several units have been destroyed along with all their contents."
He added that the worst effects would be felt by the owners of the firms destroyed, when "people put their whole lives into something just to see it go up in smoke".
Flowers by Anne Goldschmidt was among the most established companies inside the Cowdray Centre, many of which had been in place for over 15 years.
Customers wanting to buy flowers for a special occasion could look online at a range of the best high streetflorists in their neighbourhood.