It could be months before a Wollongong health cafe reopens after a fire ripped through the store Saturday night, causing evacuations and a street closure.
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Simon Kersten co-owns the Raw Energy eatery on Corrimal Street with family and was at his children's dance concert when he received a call their business was in flames.
Mr Kersten then spent most of the night speaking with police and firefighters, while he was thankful the blaze didn't spread to other businesses or caused any injuries.
"The shop is going to need to be rebuilt, it's not really fixable," he said.
"I think there's enough damage to the actual building that's going to require everything to come out, and fix the building. I can't see how we can work around it and repair."
Emergency services were called at 8:08pm to the cafe, which is in the same complex as the popular Dagwood Bar and Adina apartments.
The smoke extraction system was extracting the smoke out of the top of the building, so it would have looked like the whole building was on fire.
- Fire Inspector Gary Williams
The store was closed at the time but well alight when Fire and Rescue NSW Illawarra crews arrived, sending smoke bellowing through the exhaust and out of the top of the building.
Fire Inspector Gary Williams said the store was ablaze, though an exhaust fan was able to filter a lot of the smoke.
"The smoke extraction system was extracting the smoke out of the top of the building, so it would have looked like the whole building was on fire," Inspector Williams said.
He said it was highly likely an electrical fault sparked the fire, and it was not deemed as suspicious.
More than 90 people were evacuated from nearby businesses and the apartments above, with people seen spilling onto footpaths to watch the incident unfold.
Market Street was closed for two hours, between 8:30pm and 10:30pm, between Corrimal and Kembla Streets while around 30 firefighters fought the flames.
It's understood the fire started at the back of the cafe then worked it's way to front.
"The way we built it and the codes are there for a reason, and it contained itself really, really well," Mr Kersten said.
"All of our kitchen walls were all insulated and fire rated so it's just kept it in a spot."
At the time of speaking with the Mercury, owners were yet to speak with their insurance company and ascertain how much damage was caused.
"I think the most disappointing thing is for the staff," Mr Kersten said.
"Whilst we've all got other jobs ... the team who have been really loyal to us, and working really hard in the shop, I think it's the most disappointing for them, they're all gutted.
"I don't know how long it's going to take to get it going and get it running again, but it'll be months not weeks."