'Suspicious' blaze robs agents of their office

A massive fire at Liverpool agents Bradshare, Farnham & Lea, has resulted in the firm trying to open in emergency temporary premises today. The blaze is being treated as suspicious.

Estate agent Paul Lea was shocked to discover the building where the agent was based in the city had had be demolished to rubble for safety’s sake. A bookies in the same building, David Pluck, also lost their premises.

He told the local paper: “When I heard that there had been a fire at David Pluck I rang the fire service to see if they needed keys into our building.

“They told me David  Pluck had been demolished but that our building hadn’t been affected.

“I thought I should pop down anyway and see what had happened. I got a bit of a shock to see a pile of rubble where our shop had been. The three of us are busy making arrangements for Monday business.

“We plan to open up a temporary premises while we discuss that to  do on the old site. We may rebuild it.

“Lucky we back up all of our systems so no information has been lost and we can operate  anywhere.

“What we are worried about the most is the fact that all of the keys were in the building so it is likely we are going to have to change quite a few locks.”
The fire brigade called in the local council after being worried about the gable end of the building, which was swaying in the wind. Because it was unstable and could have fallen into the road or neighbouring houses, the decision was made to demolish it. Local residents were evacuated.