Charity Shop Fire Blow To Christmas
The Age
Monday December 6, 2004
EMERGENCY catering supplies, Christmas stock and hampers to be raffled for charity were destroyed when thieves robbed a Red Cross opportunity shop in Shepparton and set it alight on Saturday afternoon.
The fire began about 5.40pm in Fryer Street and is believed to have been started by thieves trying to destroy evidence they had broken into the Been Around Before Shop, run by the Red Cross.The fire caused hundreds of thousands of dollars of structural damage plus loss of stock, police said. A small amount of money had been stolen from the till."I think it is disgusting," said Millicent McNeill, Red Cross chairwoman of the Shepparton region. "To break in is one thing, but to then set fire to the place is just despicable."Ms McNeill said there were Christmas hampers that were being raffled to generate money for needy people as well as second-hand goods, and supplies that were to be used as emergency catering.She said the store would probably be unable to reopen until January. A spokeswoman for the Country Fire Authority said 25 people fought the blaze.
© 2004 The Age
