Community members are rallying to help a family-run battery business in the Adelaide Hills, after a destructive fire this week.
On Monday 13 January around 10.30pm, a faulty lithium-ion push-bike battery exploded within a workshop at Power-Packed Batteries in Nairne, causing significant damage and destroying a large amount of stock and equipment.
Twelve CFS firefighters in 3 trucks, supported by the Metropolitan Fire Service, SA Police, and SA Ambulance Service, managed to contain the blaze to the shed.
As insurance is too cost prohibitive for the business, at around $100,000 per year, the company is having to rebuild from scratch.
A gofund.me fundraiser with an $8,000 goal has so far raised around $1,000 as of Friday afternoon.
Owner Peter Summers told ARN’s Jennie Lenman this morning that it has been another blow for his family after the death of his wife and other loved ones over the past year.
“We lost four immediate family members between weeks of each other including my wife of 30 years and I’ve got to say it has been hard to get back on our feet… and we were just starting to move forward. My son Blaike has been involved in taking the business over and he’s put an awful lot of work into it,” Peter Summers said in this morning’s ARN radio interview.
Peter took the opportunity to thank the local community on air for their ongoing care and support.
“They reached out to us after our first loss last year and have this time reached out exactly the same; it’s truly amazing and has such a great effect on us, it gave us almost instant hope and drive to actually move this forward.”
Several community members have offered support, food and equipment, while others have donated their time helping to clean up after the fire.
To support the family in their fundraiser, head to the website https://gofund.me/e83ad50f.
