The Story of The Fire at play!
Darrell and Kathryn received calls to their mobiles at 3am on a cold and dark morning of the 22nd November 2007.
The alarms were going off so they both quickly got dressed and drove down to play! Kathryn was the first to arrive and, seeing there was no forced entry or attempted break-in, assumed it was a false alarm. However, when she entered the foyer to silence the alarms, they would not stop ringing. It was pitch black in the building so she went through the double doors to see what was wrong with the alarms and was beaten back by the smoke.
Darrell arrived just after Kathryn called the emergency services and they both stood there, in their coats and pyjamas, in the freezing cold, waiting for the fire service, knowing that somewhere in their business something was on fire.
Two fire engines arrived within minutes and, wearing breathing apparatus and armed with super strong torches, the Firemen went in.
The extent of the fire only became real to Kathryn and Darrell when the fire doors were opened and black and grey smoke came billowing out. In the cold light of day, as the streetlights were going off and the families of Oldham were reaching over to switch their alarm clocks off, Kathryn and Darrell were finally allowed in to play! to survey the damage.
As the fire was restricted to the cafe area the actual damage by the flames seemed minimal, and Kathryn and Darrell were soon making plans to cut away the damaged plaster and replace the melted machines. However, on closer inspection, they could see that everything was covered in a kind of oil-like dust, and it became clear that they wouldn’t be opening any time soon.
So then came the difficult task of calling the families of those children who had parties booked that night and over the weekend. As usual, play! was fully booked on parties and there were a lot of people to disappoint. This was particularly heart breaking for them as they work so hard in making play! a great party place, but there was no way they could be open. Thankfully everyone wholly understood and, although disappointed, recognised that there was nothing we could do about it.
Then followed weeks of meetings with insurance companies, loss assessors, surveyors, adjusters and contractors – coupled with sleepless nights and rising stress levels for Kathryn and Darrell. Just to add to Kathryn’s ever increasing stress levels, four weeks after the fire, on the 28th December Kathryn got married to Oliver. Although the run up to the wedding hadn’t been full of excitement and anticipation, finalising the last minute plans and details, but instead spent in a filthy and smelly building trying to put a business back together, the day was fantastic and all work worries were forgotten for a time.
In the New Year, the meetings, phone calls, emails, chasing quotes, arranging contractors, filling in forms and cleaning up continued until around March when the insurance company agreed we could replace the play equipment and many other items which were smoke logged. However, this was following several weeks of explaining to the insurance company that it was not economically viable to strip the equipment back to the framework, re-clad and re-vinyl it all. The play equipment is like a huge 3D jigsaw and the labour involved in pulling it down, taking it away, repairing it and replacing it meant that it would actually be more expensive to repair than scrap and replace with new.
This was great news and meant that Kathryn and Darrell could finally start rebuilding their business. Cleaning companies, decorators, plumbers and electricians were appointed. A new play structure was discussed, designed and put in to production, and Darrell worked very hard improving the kitchen and building the cafe area.
Finally, after many weeks of frustration, hard work and negotiating, everything started to come together and play! finally opened it’s doors to the public once again after being closed for just over six months.
Kathryn and Darrell were in the lucky position of being able to use their three years of experience in running a play centre when designing the new play equipment and they think it’s a great improvement on the original. After re-opening on the 7th June the feedback has been very positive. The children love the new exciting play frame, the parents think it's easier to supervise and watch their child play, and the new menu and coffee machine are going down well too.
Kathryn and Darrell would love to hear your feedback and are always happy to discuss any improvements or suggestions with you.
Finally Kathryn and Darrell would like to thank all their customers for being patient whilst play! was refurbished, and for returning again since our re-opening.