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Whitby wildlife charity hit by shop blaze

Jack Hadaway-WellerYorkshire
News imageWhitby Wildlife Sanctuary An emergency response scene outside a row of brick shopfronts on a pedestrian street. Four firefighters are in the centre of the scene, wearing full protective gear (tan fire-resistant suits, helmets, and high‑visibility markings). Fire hoses are laid out on the ground, looping across the brick‑paved walkway and leading toward the buildings. Red and white safety tape cordons off the area in the foreground. Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary
Firefighters from Whitby, Scarborough, Lythe and Loftus tackled the blaze

Thousands of pounds worth of stock, shop fittings and electrical goods have been damaged in a fire at a charity shop, according to the store manager.

Firefighters were called to the Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary shop in Flowergate on Thursday following a suspected electrical fire.

Alexandra Smith said staff had not been allowed back into the shop to fully survey the damage but said she was "expecting a lot of loss".

She said: "It's definitely going to be into the thousands, when you take into consideration things like walls, lighting and carpet. Those sort of things add up very quickly."

Nobody was injured but North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said "the entire building suffered 100% smoke damage".

An online fundraiser set up to support the shop has so far received donations totaling more than £3,500.

News imageWhitby Wildlife Sanctuary The interior of a shop that appears to have recently suffered fire damage. The ceiling, walls, and parts of the back room are blackened with soot and smoke stains. A firefighter wearing a high‑visibility jacket marked “FIRE” is standing inside the shop. Clothing racks filled with shirts, trousers, and sweaters are still standing in the foreground, contrasting with the burned area toward the back. Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary
North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said "the entire building suffered 100% smoke damage"

Smith said the the charity, which moved into the building in June 2024, had been storing a large number of raffle prizes at the shop ahead of events, including this weekend's Scarborough Food & Drink Festival.

"We had several hundred prizes being stored in the shop," Smith said

"Unfortunately we don't know what they're going to be like. We're not able to gain access to the shop to even retrieve those prizes."

She added: "We're in need of prizes and pretty urgently or we're going to have to cancel this event of which we were expecting to raise at least a few hundred pounds."

The charity said they did not know when they would be able to reopen the shop.

"We've got Goth Weekend coming up as well, and that's normally our busiest time of year for the shop," Smith said.

"We raise a lot of money for the charity during this time of year. It's been a challenge"

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