Value City Newcastle burns

This morning at 5:30am Newcastle residents were awoken to a dark cloud of smoke only to discover that the store everyone loves to shop at was ablaze. Value City was one of Newcastle’s icon wholesalers where just about anything could be bought, from blanks, toys, kitchenware to audio systems and packaging. It is reported that the fire broke out at around 5:30am but unfortunately due to the enormous amount of stock, the fire raged through the building like a wildfire in a crosswind. The flames could be seen from kilometers away, sometimes reaching double the height of the building itself. The Newcastle fire fighters were on the scene but were no match to the inferno. Soon the roof caved in and it was evident that nothing could be done to stop the flames.

You could smell the plastic burning. Fortunately the school next to Value City, St. Oswalds, was not burnt at all. The school was however closed for the day.

Residents quickly flocked to see the tragic as it unfolded and although the police kept the crowd at bay at quite a distance, you could still feel the heat from the burning building. The walls were cracked due to the excessive heat.

Newcastle has been hit by a wave of unexplained fires in recent months with places such as Darul Uloom, Parts People and Khans Shopping centre been ablaze. It’s a tremendous loss for not only the owners but also the public who rely on these shops for good wholesale pricing, not to mention the loss of work for the employees.

Allah tests us in many ways, and although tragic events like this happen to us everyday, there is ALWAYS a lesson to be learnt. No matter how big the loss, it could have always been worse – lives lost, more building ruined etc.

The event is still a hot topic amongst the residents of Newcastle, but our hearts go our to those who lost the most from this unbelievable event. Will there be another Value City? Only time will tell. We can only hope and pray that more events like this are prevented by precautionary measures but most of all – living according to the Quraan and Sunnah. May Allah protect us and remove the veils from our eyes in order that we may see the wrong we do and the result of it. Aameen

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