Two years of hard work went up in flames on the weekend, leaving volunteers of a church opportunity store devastated.
The Coodanup blaze caused $500,000 worth of damage to the House of Hope on Sunday evening, and closed part of Steerforth Drive.
Manager Sheralee McCloy found out about the fire late Sunday night, but it wasn’t until she saw the damage on Monday morning that the news hit her.
“It was absolutely shocking,” she said.
“Obviously I knew there had been a fire but to see the damage it had caused is absolutely devastating.
“I’m in shock; it’s just surreal.
“There’s nothing left; it’s all gone.
“Nobody can believe it.
“We’ve even had people come up and give us a cuddle when they see what has happened.”
The blaze broke out about 7pm, with residents living nearby reporting explosions at the Church of the Way op shop on Steerforth Drive.
The cause of the fire is still unknown but is being treated as suspicious by arson squad officers, who are still investigating.
“I guess the one good thing is that nobody was hurt,” Ms McCloy said.
“There was no one on site at the time.”
The House of Hope opened in 2013 to help support ministries and missions, both locally and internationally, with a percentage given to projects benefiting the Peel region.
“We put so much work into the shop to build it up,” Ms McCloy said.
“Even though it got bigger, people still didn’t know we were here.
“We will open up again; I don’t know when or where but we will.
“Hopefully it won’t be too long.
“We’re just so grateful to all our supporters.”
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.