New photos show damage caused by huge fire in Byfleet

Author: Grace McGachyPublished 22nd May 2023

New photos show the extent of the damage caused by a fire that ripped through Access Self Storage last week.

Surrey Fire and Rescue were first called to the scene on Oyster Lane on Thursday 18 May at around 9pm.

The fire burned for around 30 hours and fire crews worked tirelessly to get the blaze under control.

These photos take by a drone show the extent of the damage

On Friday 19 May Access Self Storage released a statement saying customers may never be able to access the site to try and retrieve their property:

"At present, we do not know when, if at all, it will be possible for customers to gain access.

"However, we can report that no casualties have been reported to us by the fire and rescue services.

"At the moment, the cause of the fire is not known, and investigations have begun into the matter."

A number of people have come forward to say that their belongings have been ruined by the fire.

Among them is Pride in Surrey who launched a fundraiser to try and replace what was lost:

"We have stored outreach and event equipment at Access for many years.

"The unit housed lots of sentimental items that form our history, along with most of our assets that reduce the cost of Pride year-on-year.

"We are now left in a extremely difficult position. We are yet to receive updates from Access themselves and from the images of the incident we are bracing ourselves for total loss.

"Although we are yet to find out the full extent of the damage caused to our equipment and items, most of the items are not resistant to smoke or water, let alone fire. We are estimating the loss of our beloved wooden giant desk chairs, staging, banners, furniture, communication equipment.. the list goes on. It was a large storage room full to the brim with essential items that we rely on regularly.

"Whilst we should be able to recover part of the loss through insurance, sentiment items that formed Surrey's LGBTQ+ Pride's history will be lost. We anticipate a painful and lengthy claims process.

"We have lots of outreach events planned for Pride Month in June, along with opening a new pop-up Pride Hub in Redhill. All of which will be extremely difficult to do without access/having any of our equipment.

"Our plan is to act now, to start replacing essential items, throughout Pride Month."