Crews were called to a fire at a block of shops on Masters Ave in Hillcrest, Hamilton overnight.
The owner of a Hamilton dairy that was severely damaged in a fire early this morning says the blaze has taken “everything” with only “the drinks in the fridge spared”.
Masters Ave Superette owner Azfar Mohammad has owned the store since September 1997, seeing both his community and family growup around the neighbourhood dairy.
“When I first opened, my daughter was not 1 year old, now she has a 1-year-old herself.”
Despite ram raids and burglaries, the store was always well-supported by the community, and even after being held up at gunpoint, it managed to stay open, Mohammad said.
“It was always within our own hands to stay open, so we did.”
“Everything was destroyed, only the drinks in the fridge were spared.”
Before he bought the store, it had been run by an elderly couple, he said.
“They were retiring, so they sold their business.”
He knew the dairy well before he bought it as he regularly walked past it during his university days and grabbed drinks on the way to his brother’s place on Berkeley Ave.
The damage is extensive. However, Mohammad had only been able to survey the wreckage from the exterior of the shop. It is estimated that $80,000 to $100,000 worth of stock had been destroyed. Photo / Tom Eley
Mohammad said he used to work in supermarkets, but decided to do something different to further support his family.
He has since handed over the reins to managers who operate the day-to-day business of the store, and have updated and modernised the dairy.
Masters Ave Superette owner, Azfar Mohammad. Photo/ Tom Eley
Masters Ave Superette manager Jignesh Patel was made aware of the fire just after 2am by their security company.
He said the fire appeared to have started from the back of the building, destroying the upstairs stockroom while ripping a hole through the roof.
Twelve fire trucks from six different stations were in attendance at the fire’s peak, a spokesperson for Fire and Emergency NZ said.
Neighbouring Hillcrest Library is closed for the next few weeks, according to a social media post.
Damage to the library entrance is being repaired, but the building has been affected by smoke and water.
Returns will need to be made to one of the other libraries.
“We’re currently looking at the extent of the damage to the building and the collections,” the post reads
“We are also working on what this means for items on hold, while programmes will be either postponed, relocated or cancelled – we will provide more details about these as we know more."
Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. He previously worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive.
