By Violet Brown
THE owners of a Newtownards family business, devastated by fire at the weekend, say they have been overwhelmed with the support they have received from the community.
More than 50 firefighters battled the blaze at Corries Meats, on the Crossnamuckley Road after the fire was discovered at around 7.15pm on Saturday night.
Owner William Corrie has praised the ‘unbelievable operation’ as neighbours drove a convoy of slurry tankers and lorries to the complex carrying water in a bid to limit the damage.
Mr Corrie explained that at around 7.15pm he had received a call from his brother telling him he had seen smoke coming out of one of the buildings and that he had called the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS).
“When I arrived there was a lot of smoke and flames coming out of the side of the building – it is not something you want to see,” Mr Corrie said.
“Within an hour it had caught most of the building.” Shortly after he arrived the NIFRS were on the scene.
“Slurry tankers filled with water came out of farms and a lorry with a big tank of water turned up – they were a big part of it,” Mr Corrie said.
“It was amazing to see people who you didn’t even know come out to help and support you.”
The number one priority for the NIFRS, he explained, was to save the main dwelling house on the farm where his mother and father live.
Speaking of his emotional attachment to the farm and the buildings which were destroyed in the fire, Mr Corrie said it was not just a building but it was a family business.
“We grew up there and a number of staff have been here since they left school. Like me they have grown up here,” he said.
“For so many people it has been part of their life and it has been a big part of my life.”
William Corrie is the third generation of his family to run the business which was started in the early 1970s by his grandfather.
“It was then taken over by my father and then I stepped in a number of years ago,” Mr Corrie said. Thousands of pounds have been raised on the farm over the years at the family friendly ‘Fun on the Farm’ event for charities such as the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children, Marie Curie and the Northern Ireland Hospice.
