A Richmond business owner could be hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket, after a mysterious fire ripped through her store.
Christina Liu is still in a bit of shock after the unexplained blaze tore through her vitamin shop – 12 Baskets – last Tuesday evening at Blundell Centre.
The fire, said Liu, destroyed her storage area at the back of the store and melted most of the front, retail side, destroying in the process what she believes to be hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of stock.
And given the nature of her business, she told the Richmond News that she only had basic insurance coverage and could be closed for up to a year.
“We’re not at high-risk so our coverage is minimal. It’s not in the nature of our business to have high coverage,” said Liu, who is still picking over the remnants of the damage.
“The fire just doesn’t make sense. That’s the inventory gone. It’s all gone.”
Neighbouring store spotted the smoke
Liu, who owns a second location on Cambie Road, said she closed up the shop at Blundell Centre at 6 p.m. last week, as usual, and was at home about 45 minutes later when she received a call from a neighbouring store that her place was on fire.
“They saw a lot of smoke. By the time the fire department came, there were huge flames,” added Liu, who has been in business for 30 years.
“There’s no gas, no kitchen, nothing really to spark the fire in the storage area. It burned everything in the back and melted everything in the front.
“I have heard of arson activities in the area, but I can’t find confirmation of that. The fire marshal has no idea. They said they’re scratching their heads.”
Liu said she expects the insurance company adjuster will hire someone to look at it the cause and maybe then some kind of explanation will be offered.
No signs of forced entry
She added that there were no signs of a forced entry.
“The only way someone could get anything in there is through the HVAC system. But I can’t think of anyone who would do this.
“We will just have to re-build and hope the community continues to support us.”
Richmond Fire-Rescue told the News that six units were deployed to the blaze, which appears to have been contained to 12 Baskets.
The fire department spokesperson said there were no injuries to any workers, the public or fire department personnel and that the investigation into the cause of the fire was still ongoing.
