100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

'Hardest thing ever': owner picks up pieces after business fire

Do you have a news tip? Click here to send to our news team.

Man suffers multiple wounds in alleged stabbing

A man has been taken to hospital after suffering multiple wounds in an alleged stabbing this afternoon. The incident occurred on Currie Street, Nambour, just More

Funding to flow for long-stalled interchange fix

A long-overdue upgrade of a major Sunshine Coast intersection is finally set in motion, with funding in the State Budget to kickstart early works. The More

Plans revised for development on high-profile site

The proponent of a plan to turn a disused bowls club next to an established tavern into a mixed-use development with residential units, short-term More

Real estate educator’s haven on market for $11m

A property investor and educator is set to sell her luxury Sunshine Coast estate. Dymphna Boholt, the creator of I Love Real Estate, is set More

Parking and boat ramp retained as river plan approved

Upgrades to a popular waterfront area as part of a 20-year vision have been endorsed by a local council. Following extensive consultation, Noosa Council has More

Waterfront ‘masterpiece’ heralds new chapter in luxury

A collection of waterfront penthouses with “never-to-be-built-out views” has sparked record interest from local and interstate buyers. The luxury residences at Comino at The Cove More

A well-known mechanical business is cranking up again just over three weeks after a devastating fire forced its closure.

Sugar Road Tyre and Mechanical quietly reopened its doors this week just around the corner from its burnt and blackened usual premises on one of Maroochydore’s main thoroughfares.

The fire, which broke out not long after closing time on August 19, gutted the front office area before spreading into the tyre store and roof of the workshop, where it caused smoke damage.

A shed at the rear of Chaplin Place, just off Sugar Road, is the business’s new digs until an insurance claim is finalised and owner Anthony Neilson can make some decisions about the damaged premises.

Mr Neilson said juggling insurance processes and resurrecting operations had been difficult.

“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said.

Sugar Road Tyre and Mechanical was burnt out on August 19.

Mr Neilson had expected his insurance to cover wages for the business’s employees until he was able to re-open but no payment has yet materialised, despite talk by the insurer of a payout.

“I’m paying them out of my savings,” he said.

Mr Neilson said he had not yet been able to fully inspect the burnt-out premises to fully ascertain the extent of the damage and what work might be needed to re-open there.

He said he had been told by a fire investigator that the fire started in an uninterrupted power supply – a battery back-up – for the security camera system at the Sugar Road premises but he had not yet seen a report by an independent investigator for the insurance company.

There was no doubt in his mind about whether to try to get the business up and running again while awaiting the outcome of his insurance claim.

“I’ve got no choice. I’ve got kids to feed,” he said.

Scroll down to SUBSCRIBE for our FREE news feed, direct to your inbox daily.

Mr Neilson said he was grateful to Maroochy Smash Repairs, which offered him a lease on a spare shed so that he could re-open.

“We started moving tools from the workshop last week and have been doing limited bookings this week but it’s only been word of mouth so far,” he said.

“The only thing we can’t do is wheel alignments. We’re using someone else to do that for us.

“There’s no store for tyres – we’re just buying those as we need them, but we usually get them the next day.”

A print of Kouta, Mr Neilson’s dog, who was a fixture at the business  and perished in the fire due to smoke, takes pride of place in the office.

Anthony Neilson and offsider Jacqueline Arthur with a print of Kouta.

The business still has the same phone number and Mr Neilson said business and customer records had been retained on a hard drive that his IT person had been able to transfer into a new computer.

Mr Neilson aims to reach 50 per cent of the business’s usual capacity at the shed but said it was hard to think too far ahead.

“We’re just going to suck it and see. My biggest headache at the moment is insurance. Once that’s sorted out, then we can think about moving forward,” he said.

Mr Neilson thanked family, friends, employees and customers who had stuck by him following the fire.

Local journalists supporting local people. Help keep independent and fair Sunshine Coast news coming by subscribing to our FREE daily news feed. All it requires is your email at the bottom of this article.

Subscribe to SCN’s free daily news email

This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
[scn_go_back_button] Return Home
Share