Police investigating suspicious fire at Grafton furniture store

A tow truck operator impacted by a major building fire at Grafton has spoken about the horror as the smoke billowed over a shared boundary wall, leaving him just 10 minutes to protect his property before evacuating.

Emergency services raced to the scene of a blazing inferno in Grafton.

A small business owner has described the horror of a major blaze which tore apart his towing business on Victoria St in Grafton in the final days of the year.

More than 40 firefighters and 12 fire trucks responded to the inferno at a charity donation centre on Fitzroy Street, near Hockey Street, about 4.15pm on Wednesday.

Dean Broomhaul was with his dad at his towing business Broomy’s Towing and Recovery when he first spotted the smoke billowing over the wall.

He told The Daily Examiner he yelled out over the wall and asked if there was a fire. When there was no response he called triple-0.

He immediately started trying to save what he could as the fire engulfed his business, but in the space of 10 minutes the fire had turned into an inferno and he was forced to flee.

Broomy's Towing and Recovery was significantty impacted by a major building fire in Grafton on Wednesday, December 29.

Mr Broomhaul’s business was signficantly impacted by the blaze, with his tow truck saved allowing the business to operate at some capacity.

On social media, he thanked the emergency services involved in helping to protect his business.

More than 40 firefighters and 12 fire trucks responded to the inferno inside a large commercial shed on Fitzroy Street, near Hockey Street, just after 4pm. Photo: Connor Perring.

One Fire and Rescue NSW firefighter sustained a minor injury while fighting the blaze. Photo: Connor Perring.

The fire was fuelled by a significant load of second-hand furniture, which caused the structure to collapse and triggered small explosions at the donation centre.

The flames also threatened to spread to several neighbouring businesses and a four-storey government building.

One premises next-door contained an armoury, forcing the careful relocation of thousands of rounds of ammunition.

One Fire and Rescue NSW firefighter sustained a minor injury while fighting the blaze and was treated at the scene by paramedics.

No cause has been identified, but the site of the fire has been declared a crime scene and the investigation has been handed over to NSW Police.

Officers from Coffs-Clarence Police District have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, which is being treated as suspicious.