Carpet Choice fire: Owner devastated

The owner of Fairy Meadow's Carpet Choice outlet has been devastated by the razing of his business outlet.Michael Grehan received a call shortly after the fire began at 6.45pm last night and arrived to watch his business go up in flames."I'm devastated. Just devastated. I've lost everything,'' he said.VIDEO: A witness captured this footage of the carpet store engulfed in flames.NSW Fire Brigades personnel were on site this morning, after fighting spot fires at the site throughout the night.Investigations are still underway to determine whether the fire was deliberately lit.Mr Grehan, who has operated the franchise for the past five years, said he had 70 to 80 orders to fill throughout the Illawarra and was spending his day trying to organise a contingency plan.He said Carpet Choice would supply the carpets and he had a copy of the orders in a back-up computer system, but he would need to reorganise measurements of people's homes. Concerned customers can contact him on 4225 0900.The fire took hold within minutes, according to firefighters who arrived at the store to find flames leaping out of the roof cavity.About 50 firefighters attended the scene, closing a 600m section of the Princes Hwy between Cabbage Tree Lane and Mt Ousley Rd.Rolls of carpet and rubber were ablaze, sending toxic fumes into the air, while outside firefighters doused the blaze from a cherry picker. The fire was contained by 7pm.Police detectives established a crime scene around the blaze and interviewed witnesses.Acting Inspector Nick Skomarow said the cause had not been identified but that investigators would comb through the building once the fire was extinguished."It is a crime scene until the fire is out and our crime scene investigators carry out their investigation," he said. "The fire was contained to the one building - the other buildings might have some smoke damage."NSW Fire Brigade Superintendent Malcolm Connellan said the carpets and rubber underlay contributed to the intensity of the blaze."It is a flammable material and is usually stacked, rolled up pretty high at the back of the building ... it smoulders and smoulders'," he said."We will wait until we get it under control and investigators come in to determine source and origin." Anyone who may have information about the fire is urged to contact Wollongong detectives on 4226 7759 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.