A BUILDING housing a Polish shop is in a ‘dangerously unstable condition’ after a fire ripped through the property.

Fire crews remained at the scene yesterday, in Whalley Banks, Blackburn, after the attack on the Almera Polish Shop, on Tuesday.

A decision will now have to be made to either complete urgent structural repairs, or to demolish.

The section of the three-storey terrace houses the shop and flats, and storage space above.

The fire also burned through the roof space of the terrace, causing damage to properties all along the section of the street.

Building inspectors have completed initial checks on the mid-terrace building.

The interior floors of the section have all collapsed, and there are fears over the stability of the rest of the building.

Next door neighbour Rafiq Mehta said his business had also been badly affected by the blaze.

He opened Ali’s Indian Restaurant in August after a lifetime of working in shops, and recently in a cash and carry.

Mr Mehta said: “The business is wrecked, not by the fire, but it is flooded.

“I have been told I can’t go inside and won’t be able to for a while. It could be months before I can open up again. It is a real mess. I can see that from outside.

“I have worked very hard for this and it has been my dream to own a small business. This is a disaster.”

A joint police and fire investigation into the cause of the fire is under way, and a 30-year-old man suspected of starting the fire remains detained under the Mental Health Act.

Police said a man ran into the general store at around 9.30am, before dousing it in petrol and setting it alight.

Crew manager John Leach, from Blackburn Fire Station, said: “The middle section, where the Polish shop is located, is very badly damaged.

“The building inspector has looked at it and he said that it is dangerously unstable.

“That means that, at this stage, we cannot get in the building.”

Crews completed checks yesterday using an aerial ladder platform and a thermal imaging camera to locate any ‘hotspot’ areas.

They were still damping down some sections, but the road was re-opened to traffic early yesterday after a closure of almost 24 hours.

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