Professional photographer Ashley Nayler says she’s in shock after a fire in downtown Peterborough Thursday night ripped through the commercial building that houses her longtime studio.
“I have thousands of dollars of shoots booked in the next six weeks before Christmas in that space,” said Nayler, owner of Ash Nayler Photography.
The fire broke out on the rooftop of the building at 372 George St. N. around 11 p.m. It took 30 firefighters several hours to get it under control. No one was injured.
Nayler has run her studio on the second floor for more than 13 years.
She has been unable to enter the building to assess the damage to her business, but she says none of her camera gear or computers were in the studio at the time so clients’ photos are safe.
“I shoot all natural light — the way the window light comes in, the size of the space, the size of the windows, is pretty unique to the way I shoot,” said Nayler.
“It has definitely lent a look that people desire so that’s why they book me. It’s a pretty important space for me.”
Firefighters say strong winds and the multiple ceilings in the old building proved to be a challenge. Four pumpers and an aerial truck were used as flames came through the rooftop and filled the downtown core with thick smoke.
“There’s a lot of old construction there; different ceilings, different roofs on top of roofs, so now we’re into the voids in the ceiling spaces,” said Peterborough Fire Services Chief Chris Snetsinger on Friday morning. “So there’s a lot of work being done right now and a lot of work to come, so we’ll get the city engineers in here and see what’s structurally sound or not.”
WATCH BELOW: Peterborough fire chief talks about downtown fire on George St.
Debbie May, the building manager, says a number of businesses could be potentially impacted by the fire once city engineers give permission to re-enter the building.
“It goes from Natas Cafe, right down to Speak Easy, I look after all those buildings so there’s eight or nine businesses,” said May.
Roger Sargent, an employee at nearby Speak Easy Cafe, says he was heading to work when he was stopped by firefighters. The business was closed Friday as electricity and gas lines in the area were shut off.
“I came out to do my shift at quarter after two this morning and there was firetrucks and that all up and down the street,” he said.
The building also housed Simple, a store specializing in homemade soaps. Manager Alex Fitzgerald could not be reached for comment.
Nayler says despite the losses, she has been flabbergasted by the outpouring of community support.
“I’ve received 100 to 150 messages over Facebook, or texts or Instagrams this morning of people offering help or anything they can,” she said. “Actually, it has been overwhelming. I haven’t been able to keep up with them my phone has been buzzing since 6 a.m.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation but police say it doesn’t appear suspicious. A damage estimate has yet to be determined.
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