Longford business community pulls together in wake of fire

Though the damage to the property on Grafton Court in Longford town is a shock to the entire Longford business community , some have pulled together to help out.

Among the businesses devastated by the fire was the beauty salon, Sugar Babes, which was destroyed from the fire in Grafton Court.

Vicky Reilly of Sugar Babes contacted the Leader about an act of kindness that allowed her to keep her commitments: “I am from one of the businesses that was affected by the fire in Grafton Court, Longford. I would just like to talk about the help Kevin Hussey Longford has given us.”

Vicky explained the help offered: “On Sunday morning, after the fire, Kevin gave me a call, I went to meet Kevin at his office over his dry cleaners in the town.

“It’s a small beauty salon but a busy one. Kevin offered his office to work from. After what felt like my whole world had fallen apart there was some hope. I couldn’t believe the generosity of Kevin, he said he would empty out his office space.”

“He wanted to help out in some way after the aftermath of the fire. It’s so nice to see in a small town that another business is willing to help out. This has totally dug the future of Sugar Babes out of a hole as there is now some hope,” she said.

As the assessment of the damage continues Vicky said the outpouring of support has been overwhelming: “It’s heartbreaking to see all the businesses that have been affected and we have been in touch and speaking with others that work on the street and everyone just wants to help everyone.

“Hopefully in the future that street can get back up and running again. Our hearts go out to the landlord of the street also, he is genuinely one of the good ones and it’s sad to see the pain in his eyes.”