A small fishing community on the New South Wales Mid North Coast has been left shattered after the local seafood co-op burnt down during the region’s peak tourism season.
Around 20 fishers were involved with the Laurieton co-op, which had been operating for nearly half a century.
Owner Cody Weston said he was “gutted” to see the building this morning.
“I just felt sick in the stomach, like I wanted to spew, but there’s not much you can do,” he said.
Authorities say the building was totally destroyed. (ABC Mid North Coast: Lauren Bohane)
The co-op burnt down overnight, during its peak trading period.
The surrounding region, known for its natural features and seafood, is very popular with tourists during summer.
Mr Weston owned the business for the past 18 months and said staff members would now likely have to look for other jobs while he worked to rebuild.
However, he said the community response had been incredible.
“There’s been a lot of people trying to reach out … just trying to offer their support, anything they can do to help,” he said.
Water access issues
Mid North Coast Fire and Rescue Duty Commander Tony Lenthal said the fire was too advanced when crews arrived overnight.
“Unfortunately the building has been totally destroyed,” he said.
“They had significant problems getting a water source to actually start firefighting.
“There is a hydrant very close to the building however it was not in service, which meant there was a reasonable stretch of hose needed … to get a water supply to actually start firefighting.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Police and fire authorities are investigating the cause of the fire. (ABC Mid North Coast: Lauren Bohane)
Richard Shumack lives near the co-op and said he was devastated to see it go up in flames.
“I was in bed and I thought someone was letting off crackers at first,” he said.
“I saw a few bright lights and I came out and the fire engines were already there.
“It just started to rage and it just got bigger and bigger, until there were a couple of big explosions and the flames were probably going up nearly 15 metres in the air.”
Community rallies together
Peter Poole owns the Camden Haven Tyres in Laurieton, where people have pre-paid for bags of ice for affected fishers.
“People are coming from everywhere,” Mr Poole said.
“They’ve paid forward about 400 bags so far.”
Peter Poole has been working to help affected fishers access ice. (ABC Mid North Coast: Lauren Bohane)
However, Mr Poole said the quick and overwhelming response was not surprising.
“When the floods were on, everybody helped there … and the same here,” he said.
“It’s been there for years, it’s like a little icon and without that we’d miss our seafood.”
Fishers optimistic
The immediate support from the community was also no surprise to fisher Billy Roelandts, who had been involved in the co-op for over 40 years.
“It’s not surprising because almost everywhere that something goes wrong, the locals do come together and provide assistance,” he said.
Local fisher Billy Roelandts hopes it is not the end of the seafood co-op. (ABC Mid North Coast: Lauren Bohane)
He was confident the community would bounce back from the blaze.
“It won’t stop what we catch but in the short term, it will make it harder to market it and to have the facilities that we need to look after [our catch],” he said.
“The co-op will never go away … it’s something the town likes and enjoys.”
