Waiting game for car owners at ruined car park

George Finn is one of the lucky ones, but dozens of other car owners face an anxious wait as the massive operation to remove up to 190 cars from a fire-ravaged carpark got underway.

Mr Finn was one of the first motorists to see his undamaged car being lifted clear by crane yesterday from the upper floors of the Douglas Village Shopping Centre car park in Cork City, which was destroyed in a massive blaze on Saturday.

“It looks OK,” he said. “I saw my glasses were left in the front of it and they haven’t even moved.”

Mr Finn, from Co Kerry, praised gardaí and fire- fighters who helped retrieve four All-Ireland tickets from his Ford S-Max minutes after the blaze was brought under control late on Saturday, and said he hopes to retrieve his golf clubs from the boot soon.

However, insurance assessors need to check out the car first before he gets the keys back.

Despite some retailers’ worries of losing millions of euro in spoiled stock and security concerns about cash still in tills, retailer Tesco, one of the centre’s anchor tenants, said it is committed to maintaining a presence there.

“We will continue to work closely with the management of the centre as we all work together to get back on our feet,” it said.

The company said it has spoken individually with the store’s 103 staff to discuss temporarily relocating to one of its other outlets.

It also said it has increased capacity on its home delivery services and the click-and-collect options at its Mahon Point and Wilton Shopping Centre stores in the city to facilitate customers.

The car removal operation got under way around lunchtime yesterday, when a 90-tonne crane hoisted a tow-truck onto an upper floor of the carpark’s undamaged western section.

Workers photographed the cars in situ before towing them to an open roof area, from where the crane lifted them to the ground. They are being taken to a nearby carpark for assessment before they can be given back to owners.

The removal operation could take up to a week. The undamaged sections will be cleared of cars first.

The burnt-out cars close to the seat of the fire on level one in the middle section of the carpark may not be retrieved. It is understood that they could be dealt with during the demolition phase, which is due to start next week.

Among the crowd watching was Pat Hannon, who lives on the South Douglas Road.

He had parked his company car, a Volvo XC60, on level one minutes before the fire broke out.

“It’s like waiting for your luggage to come off the carousel in the airport when everybody else is gone,” he said.

“I’m hopeful it has escaped damage because it was parked quite a distance from where the fire was. But I’ll have to wait and see.”

Maeve O’Connell, who lives in Maryborough, was standing nearby and a little less hopeful.

The PhD student, from Goleen, Co Cork, parked her 2008 VW Passat on level one just to pop in to two shops for a few bits and pieces.

“I think it might be OK,” she said. “It’s unlikely that it escaped damage but we’ll just have to wait and see.

I’m a bit nervous. It is what it is. If it doesn’t come out, we’ll move on. It’s not the end of the world. It could have been a lot worse. At least no one was hurt.

Thomas Rossiter, who is from Cork but who works in Naas, Co Kildare, also parked on level one and said it’s been a difficult few days without his car. His sister’s boyfriend’s car is also still inside. His mother, Mary Rossiter, said it’s devastating for all affected.

“We don’t know if they are intact or burnt,” she said. “We know nothing. It’s just a waiting game really.”