A statement from Access Self Storage regarding the situation at the storage centre in Byfleet:
Woking Council Building Control have now completed their inspection of the site and advised that due to the extent of the damage caused by the fire, the building is deemed a dangerous structure and regrettably, it will need to be demolished.
There are currently three independent and external fire investigators working on the incident. These include the Surrey Fire and Rescue Service which is looking at regulatory matters, the cause of the incident and fire safety, as well as two separate external investigators representing the building and contents insurers. Their investigations are all ongoing.
Because the building is now considered unsafe, in accordance with guidance given by the local council building control access will not be allowed prior to demolition contractors taking control of the site. We are working closely with all parties to ensure that the safety of customers and staff is the priority.
We processed refunds to all of our customers earlier this week on all unused rental charges from the date of the fire and, now that the future of the building has been confirmed, we have started to send out claim forms to customers with contents protection and this will continue over the coming working days. We fully appreciate how upsetting this news is and that many customers, as well as several of our own employees have lost items of sentimental value. Due to the severity of the fire, recovery of items from the site is unlikely, however, we will work closely with the demolition contractors to ensure anything that can be salvaged will be retained, stored and work on a process to reunite customers with such items.
The investigation as to the cause of the fire continues. Our incident support team attempted to contact every customer within 24 hours of the fire. To date, they have successfully spoken to nearly all (94%) of them and continue to call customers who they have not yet spoken to in person. Now we have a decision about demolition, our focus is to get claim forms to customers with contents protection and ensure customers understand the process of claiming for losses. Our customer helpline was set up immediately after the incident and remains open: 01614 257 721 or support@accessstorage.com where the team can help with customer queries and customers goods claims.
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