Bilston industrial units destroyed in blaze to be demolished as new development planned
A row of industrial units that were destroyed in a massive blaze in Bilston are set to be demolished to make way for a new development.
Flames rose more than 100ft into the air when fire raged through Unit 9 of the Stag Industrial Estate on November 20.
The fire caused the estate to come to a standstill, with dozens of workers sent home and more than 80 firefighters on site controlling the fire, many of them for up to 18 hours.
The structural damage caused was so severe that investigators from West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) are yet to enter the building's shell due to it being unsafe.
For businesses based at the site on Oxford Street the past month has been a time of great frustration, with five firms left in limbo after seeing their premises reduced to rubble.
The damage is estimated to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds, with one business alone forced to come to terms with more than £50,000 worth of destroyed stock.
But now small shoots of recovery have began to emerge. Next week the remnants of the wrecked unit are set to be flattened, with bosses at the estate vowing to start a rebuilding project next year.
Eleazer Ikpeze, from Hill Top, West Bromwich, said he received confirmation from site bosses that the building would be razed to the ground, along with an offer to return to the estate once the new units are completed next year.
Mr Ikpeze said he still has nightmares about the morning he turned up at the estate and watched the business he had worked so hard to build collapse in the inferno.
"It still hurts," said the 41-year-old, who ran the All Appliance Centre from one of the destroyed units for seven years.
"It has been a month now and nothing has happened really. I went back there last week and it's like a ghost town. It used to be such a busy part of the estate but everything is gone.
"Because the fire service haven't been able to finish the investigation it has affected insurance claims and everything is in limbo.
"I have staff who are relying on me and I just don't know what to say to them at the moment. "
The firm employs nine people full-time and five temporary staff.
Furniture makers Giomani Designs and glass fibre manufacturers Fibre Tech are among other businesses that lost their workplaces in the blaze.
WMFS spokesman Matthew Smith said the investigation into the cause of the fire would be completed before the building's demolition.
He said: "The fire was so severe that the building was deemed unsafe for us to enter to conduct a full investigation.
"In recent weeks demolition contractors have been on site making the area safe and we are hoping to make our final investigations very soon."
