A single mum-of-two said she was 'left speechless' after a fire broke through her shop in the middle of the night and gutted the inside.
Temitayo Ologun-Sanderson has run Collectives Superstores, an African-Caribbean food store, on Townsend Lane in Anfield for 10 years. She couldn’t believe it when she got a phone call in the early hours of Friday morning to tell her the shop was on fire.
She said an electrical fault caused the fire and crews were alerted at 3.34am. Two fire engines were on the scene at 3.50am and the fire was extinguished by 4.29am. No injuries were reported and an investigation determined it started accidentally.
READ MORE: Fire crews called as blaze breaks out in shop
Temitayo, who lives in Inner Forum in Norris Green, said: “It’s just horrible. It’s my livelihood and I need it to support my young children. This is all we’ve got and I couldn’t sleep at all.
“I’ve cried and prayed and felt all sorts of emotions. No one closes their shop at the end of the day and expects this to happen. I’ve got no words.”
She added she was distraught after putting years of effort in to make the shop work and doesn’t know what to do now she has lost all the supplies and freezers. Temitayo, who is in her mid-30s, wasn’t able to see the damage to the shop in person as she was taking her seven-year-old daughter Hazel and two-year-old son Edward to Alder Hey hospital.
She has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to restore the shop.
Temitayo’s close family friend, Pelumi Agbe, was at the scene. The 20-year-old lives across the road and often helps out at the shop.
Pelumi said she had a call from Temitayo at around 3am. She initially heard it was a small fire and was shocked when she saw the extent of the damage.
She added that Collectives Superstores is usually quite busy and has a good relationship with its customers. As she stood outside the shop, which had its shutters closed, people came up to her to express their sympathy for what happened.
Pelumi said she was sure the fire and shop’s closure would affect a lot of people.
Properties on each side of Collectives Superstores were checked. Posh Nails & Spa, on the left of the shop, was open for business as usual.
Other business owners along Townsend Lane heard about the fire when they came in to work in the morning. Linda Akrari, the manager of The Stadium pub, was told about the fire by a customer and said she “wasn’t surprised” due to the old buildings along the road.
Sam Williams, who lives upstairs above The Willow Bank pub, was told about a fire on the lane by his friend and initially thought it was the pub.
Townsend Lane was closed in both directions from Priory Road to Chapel Road but has since reopened.
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