Travel agency staff whose office was destroyed in a fire have been reunited with a small number of items holding sentimental value.
SJ Travel Centre’s shop in Fairways Business Park, Inverness, was ravaged by a blaze in the early hours of Sunday, March 9.
Agency owner Julia Macleay said the contents of the office were taken to the skip, where the vast majority of items were confirmed as scrap, but a handful of possessions were saved, including a 26-year-old book with industry contacts.
She described the rescued items as “just a few small treasures, but they mean the world”.
Police, who said enquiries continue, have appealed for information after revealing that a Skoda Octavia car was deliberately driven into the building, before the premises and car were set alight. The building also housed a bakery, a barber’s, a hairdresser’s, a fish shop and a gift shop, with the latter also owned by Macleay.
In a Facebook post, Macleay described “tough” scenes to witness in the aftermath of the fire.
“The entire contents of SJ Travel Centre were loaded into a skip and taken away,” she wrote.
“Watching years of hard work, memories and a whole lot of history disappear like that, it was absolutely heartbreaking.
“But in true SJ style, there’s always a silver lining. Some absolute legends at the skipyard managed to save a few very special things for us.”
She added that her son’s friend works at the skipyard and, after seeking permission from his manager, he searched through three skips to see if anything could be salvaged.
Amid the “melted” computers and other destroyed items, he recovered two books containing industry contacts and memories from two of the agents’ travel careers, with one of the books dating back 26 years.
A tin holding the business’ bank cards and some customer details was also saved, as were number plates from a former chauffeur vehicle. Donations totalling £40 for a local hospice were also rescued.
Macleay said: “None of the items are valuable but they were important to us and I’m so grateful to my son’s friend for going through the skips. Not everyone would do that – that was lovely.”
The agency is temporarily based in Robertson House on Shore Street, but Macleay hopes the business will soon secure a unit on the Longman industrial estate that will allow greater access to walk-in customers.
She hopes the agency will eventually move back into Fairways Business Park if it gets rebuilt.
Police Scotland said: “Enquiries remain ongoing and the property has been stood down now.”
Photo: SJ Travel Centre has recovered some items (left) after the fire that destroyed its Inverness premises (right). Credit: SJ Travel Centre/Julia Macleay
