By BRIDGET COOK
SEVERAL Hampton Park businesses have been dealt a devastating blow right before Christmas, after a deliberately lit fire destroyed one shop and damaged others on Tuesday.
One new business, which suffered at least $150,000 worth of damage, was set to open its doors to the public today (Wednesday).
Double Apple Shisha Lounge was completely destroyed by a fire which started about 2am on Tuesday morning.
Detective Senior Constable Mark Weiderhold said police were definitely treating the fire as suspicious.
“We have got a number of lines of inquiry we are following, but it’s early days,” he said.
While the shisha lounge was the only shop completely destroyed, many others nearby also suffered significant damage.
Chadz Chicken House, which hadn’t even opened yet, was one of the businesses to be damaged by smoke and a burst water pipe.
Joint owner Jason Cruz said it was devastating that they would not be able to open up shop.
“All our equipment was set up and we had moved our stock in on Monday,” he said.
“When we showed up at 8am, I couldn’t believe what had happened.
“My cousin, who is going to run the shop with me, left school to do this job, and I quit my job.
“We had put quite a lot of time, money and effort into this shop so it’s pretty devastating.”
“It’s not going to be a very enjoyable Christmas for us.”
Mr Cruz said they were busy trying to open the shop for the busy holiday season.
“We have been told this could put the opening off for a couple of months,” he said.
“We wanted to be open for the Christmas season. We had a lot of people waiting for us to open.”
Double Apple Shisha Lounge owner Mohamad Samir Rahimi said they only opened the business four weeks ago, so this was devastating in such early days.
“We lost everything,” he said.
“We have no idea when we will be able to open again, but it will be at least three to four months.
“We spent between $70,000 and $80,000 setting it up, so that’s all gone.
“I believe it was deliberately lit, and all I can say to whoever it was, is that they are a coward.”
Hampton Park Fire Brigade’s Lieutenant Chris Gomolis said they were joined by Hallam and Narre Warren brigades to fight the blaze, with 24 fire-fighters attending to stop it spreading to other businesses as much as possible.
Any witnesses or anyone with information in relation to the fire is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 00.
