A FAMILY has vowed to bounce back after their business was hit by a devastating fire just weeks after the heartbreaking death of their son.
Huge flames and a plume of black smoke could be seen across Canvey on Friday night as firefighters tackled a blaze at Leisure Island Fun Park on Eastern Esplanade.
Owner Scott Petty confirmed the fire had damaged the toilet block, first aid room and baby change area of the park.
The shocking fire came just weeks after Scott paid tribute to his “caring and selfless” son, Charley Petty, who died aged just 30, following a four-year battle with cancer.
Leisure Island Fun Park has remained closed for the majority of the year while the family cared for Charley until his passing.
There is yet to be a date for when the business will reopen, but the owners insist it will bounce back from both the fire and their heartbreaking loss.
Scott said: “We had just got back from my father-in-law’s funeral, when we heard about the fire.
“He had died on the Tuesday, and we lost our son on the Friday, so it has been a terrible time for us all at the moment.
“My son’s funeral is also this Friday, so you can imagine what we are going through.
“Thank God there wasn’t that much damage, as the fire brigade did a fantastic job.
“The firefighters were on their way back from a hoax call, when they saw the fire, thankfully.
“We lost our toilet block, first aid room, baby changing area, and compactor area.”
Thanks to the quick response from firefighters, the blaze was brought under control quickly, preventing it from spreading to the rest of the park.
An investigation is being carried out by the fire service to determine the cause of the blaze and Scott is combing through CCTV to see if he can find any evidence.
“We have CCTV on site, and we are going through that at the moment to establish how the fire started,” he said.
“We haven’t opened this year due to my son’s long running illness, and his terrible passing.
“Due to the circumstances we are not making any decisions on time frames at the moment as we are mentally not in a good place.
“But the business will bounce back.”
Fantasy Island, the separate amusement park next door, will be open as normal as bosses at the park also thanked firefighters for keeping its “customers, staff and business safe”.
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