Just two years after suddenly losing their daughter, a couple are facing another hardship after a suspicious fire engulfed a building in Port Kembla on Wednesday.
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The Illawarra branch of Jaeme and Rob Ogilvie's automotive business, Ion DNA, operated from the basement space of the ruined building on the corner of Military Road and Fitzwilliam Street.
The business is also the brainchild of their daughter, Erin, who died two years ago at the age of 21.
Mrs Ogilvie described the moment she learnt of the fire as "gut-wrenching".
Based in Canberra, Mrs Ogilvie jumped straight in the car on Wednesday morning and headed to Port Kembla to assess the extent of the damage.
From that site Ion DNA certified electric vehicles to ensure they met the necessary standards, and at the time of the fire there were a number of new-to-market vehicles in the space (they have since been relocated).
"I was presented with a charred building," Mrs Ogilvie said of the scene that greeted her when she arrived.
Being on the basement level of the building, the damage was limited to soot, water and smoke ingress, although one vehicle was "quite badly" water damaged and others had surface damage.
But Mrs Ogilvie said they had made a significant financial investment in the site and while insurance would cover the damage, the fire would stop them trading indefinitely.
She said the fire would have a "massive financial and emotional cost".
The Ogilvies are now faced with looking to move their business elsewhere.
"Port Kembla is an amazing community and changing space which we are so happy to be a part of, it will be upsetting if we have to leave the area," Mrs Ogilvie said.
The couple have been in the automotive industry for decades but it was their daughter Erin who, at the precocious age of 17, insisted that they transition their business to electric vehicles.
At the time of her death Erin was a photographer, someone her mother described as "a really special young woman... starting to make a life for herself in Sydney".
It is not only the Ogilvies who are grappling with the impact of Wednesday morning's blaze but their fellow tenant, recruitment company iStaff Australia, and their landlord, too.
Mrs Ogilvie said her heart went out to iStaff's owner and she was devastated for her landlord.
The landlord, who did not want to be identified, also described the fire - which police suspected was the result of arson - as gut-wrenching.
He said the property, which he had owned for 10 years, was his nest egg.
As well as the extensive damage - which will likely require the demolition of the top two levels - the landlord is faced with losing "two great companies" he enjoyed as long-term tenants.
"We put so much work into it to get it to where it is, to put these tenancies in place, and that's all been ripped away from us," the landlord said.
Police continue to investigate the circumstances of the fire.
Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
