Manager touched by messages of support after Breckland Lodge fire
A restaurant manager has described public support as “absolutely amazing” after a fire destroyed a large portion of the site.
Sixty firefighters tackled the blaze at Breckland Lodge in Attleborough on Tuesday.
London Road was closed as fire crews battled the fire for five hours.
The business, which employs about 90 staff, suffered significant damage in the fire, but has vowed to come back “bigger and stronger”.
General manager and director Colin Kilby said: “ The building is destroyed inside. It was scary to see.
“You see these videos of fires and you never really take it in how aggressive they are, but the fire took over in minutes.
The response from the public has been absolutely amazing
“It’s tragic, but the most important thing is that no-one was hurt. If they had, it would have been such a different story.”
Messages of support have flooded in following the fire.
“The response from the public has been absolutely amazing,” said Mr Kilby.
“I got home on Tuesday and I must have had almost 450 messages – it’s quite incredible.
“You don’t realise how much people care until something like this happens. It’s quite humbling to be honest.
“Tuesday was full of emotion. I’m absolutely gutted, but it’s one of those things.
“We have to reassess the situation and see how we can get it back up again.”
Attleborough Town Council was among the many well-wishers.
Writing on Twitter, the council said: “We are shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic fire at Breckland Lodge and send our thoughts to all involved.”
Mr Kilby thanked the emergency services for tackling the fire.
He said: “The response from the emergency services was fantastic. The fire service and police were brilliant; they were concerned for us all. I can’t thank everyone enough for the support.”