We reported the incidents to the Council and the Police.
We were shocked to read about the second major fire in the flat above the shop in College Street, Ammanford.
Firefighters
tackling the fire in the flat above Sophia Nails in Ammanford. (Image: Stuart Ladd)
We purchased the flat above the shop and the house behind it, in a 2008 property auction run by
Seel and Company in Wales.
It was a fire-damaged property that was described as formerly being six bedsits.
The 2007 fire was said to have been predicted by Jane John (owner of the shop) in this news article.
Before the fire in 2007, the shop premises were occupied by Gwalia Housing.
After the 2007 fire, Jane John was quoted as saying
’’ the offices have been gutted by the fire, which started in the front bedroom (above the shop).’’
This video shows some of the repairs that were carried out in that fire-damaged property after the 2007 fire.
Picture The rear of the roof that was repaired.
The front of the roof was generally okay,
it was the rear of the roof that was replaced, as seen in the photo.
I believe the 2007 fire did not start in the front bedroom above the shop, but further back.
In 2008/2009, we cleared the property of all the debris caused by the fire.
There was no graffiti on the walls in the flat, but there
was graffitti on one of the walls inside the house.
The graffitti could be seen in one of the rooms at
the rear of the house.
I believe that it was likely to be the room that was being
used by youths who had gained access to the property.
That room is at least fifteen meters from where Jane John stated the 2007 fire started.
That same room seems to have been being used by someone recently.
These photos were taken in 2023.
The windows in the pictures are the windows of that room.
I believe that the graffitti on the windows is suggestive of
someone using that room.
Comments were left on Facebook regarding the 2024 fire.
Some comments were from Sophia Nails and some comments were from the owners of the shop.
The co-owners of the shop are Mr. Gareth Edwards and Mrs. Jane John.
Many people that commented on facebook were concerned that the staff at the shop were alright.
I would have expected someone to have reassured people that the staff were okay.
Jane John made these comments.
Her brother, Gareth Edwards, made this comment.
Mr. Edwards seems to suggest that the fire started in different places, in the flat and the house.
The house is not above Sophia Nails, the house sits behind the shop and the flat.
On the 2nd of September 2024, the South Wales Guardian published an
update from the Fire brigade.
I do not understand how anyone could know where the fire started at such an early stage.
Some of the electrical cables for their shop were placed inside the cavity between the ceiling of their
shop and the floor of the flat above.
This comment was posted on Sophia nail’s facebook page prior to the 2024 fire.
Faulty wiring is listed as one of the main causes of fires.
The fire brigade were first notified about the fire at 8.02 am on Saturday 31st August 2024.
This comment was left on 31st August 2024 at 8.54 am.
This comment was left on 31st August 2024 at 19.08 pm.
One to two weeks seemed unrealistic as there was substantial damage to the building.
The damage in the 2024 fire can be seen in this picture.
The whole roof is missing.
South Wales Guardian 31st August 2024 at 19.23 pm.
These are three of the comments left on the post.
In Jane Johns earlier comment she stated that the
’’fire started in house upstairs’’
The house sits behind both the shop and the flat,
perhaps what she meant was the flat upstairs.
On the 6th September 2024 14.45 pm, this comment was posted.
In the 2007 fire, one man was brave enough to risk his own life to make sure that no one was trapped inside that building.
Before 2007, the flat above the shop and the house behind were utilized as six bedsits.
It was very fortunate that no one was inside the building at the time of either fire.
A big shout out to all our firefighters,
and the man who risked his own life to make sure no one was in the property during the 2007 fire.
It was thanks to the efforts of our brave firefighters that the blaze was prevented from spreading to nearby buildings.
We are fortunate in the United Kingdom to have such a dedicated, effective fire service.
Could the fires be some form of bizarre coincidence, two fires, seventeen years apart, stated
to have started in the same area?
Fires always have a cause.
The cause could be accidental or deliberate, but there is always a cause.
It seems that the locals might know what the empty property was used for,
but if what was stated is true, why has the property not been secured?
The knowledge is quite detailed, perhaps the writer has been in the building,
or knows someone who has.
If there were kids in that building they are more likely to
be in the house part in my opinion.
If they were in the flat,
the light from the candles would be seen from the outside.
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue services statement.
Crews responded to a fire within a residential property above a commercial property.
The building’s first floor and roof space were well alight on crews arrival, with the fire spreading to neighboring properties.
Crews utilized 11 breathing apparatus sets, two hose reel jets, two thermal imaging cameras,
one 13.5 meter ladder, one seven-meter ladder, one turntable appliance used as a water tower
and one safety jet to extinguish the fire.
Crews left the scene at 11.38 am, with some crews reattending later that day to monitor and dampen down remaining hotspots.
The fire brigade arrived at around 8.15 am, it took the fire brigade over four hours to control the 2024 fire.
Sometimes fires can be caused by faulty wiring, all the wiring to the flat and house
was replaced after the 2007 fire.
Sometimes fires are caused by faulty appliances, but on both occasions, no one was at the property.
The fires could have been caused by two different arsonists,
but that too seems unlikely given the two fires were said to have started in the same area,
seventeen years apart.
I think it is unlikely that two separate arsonists would start a fire in the same place.
