To the editor,
I am writing to you on behalf of Canowindra Produce, who, as you may know, experienced a terrible fire a few weeks ago.
The fire has had a considerable impact on the business and has caused the chaff cutter – which has been in use for more than 40 years – to be completely destroyed. Two sheds have also been severely impacted and will need to be replaced.
When I heard of the fire and frantically called my family to get some news on it, the thing I was told over and over was ‘it could’ve been worse.’ And without the support of the community, it would have. As it stands, production will be able to begin again soon and thankfully most of the existing product wasn’t damaged in the fire.
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the incredible responses of the emergency services, including the fire fighters who came not only from Canowindra but all over the district including Cowra, Bathurst, Kelso, Orange, Young and Harden. The ambulance officers who were there to treat anyone who required it and transported my Dad and Col, a longtime employee of ours, to the hospital with suspected smoke inhalation, we are very appreciative. The aid provided in the days after has been invaluable, especially from our local fire brigade who came up the next day to ensure all was well and provided us with some much needed advice.
I also want to extend a huge thank you to all the wonderful community members who came up on the night to offer support and to our local café, The Garden of Roses, who delivered much needed food and drinks, it was a wonderful, thoughtful gesture. Also, to the generous people who have reached out in the days following to offer their good will.
To all our wonderful customers, who have all been incredibly understanding concerning delays in production, your continued support is uplifting. Finally, to all the absolutely brilliant staff members, who, immediately after hearing about the fire, came up to the mill – some with wonderful friends – to help fight it. They were invaluable in containing the fire as without them, a lot more product and infrastructure would have been destroyed. We feel privileged that they came up to help, and that they are continuing to support the business by working hard every day to restart chaff production.
With sincere gratitude,
Isabel Brown