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Fire destroys Ray’s Gym BY KATIE TODD
KATIE.T@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
A fire that tore through a “piece of history” in Tinwald could have been deliberately lit. Ray’s Gym at the Tinwald Rugby Football Club has been reduced to a pile of twisted metal and rubble, following a fire which started late on Tuesday night and is now the subject of an investigation. Firefighters arrived on the scene at around 11.30pm on Tuesday night to discover a fire
that was well involved, Fire and Emergency Ashburton Chief Fire Officer Alan Burgess said. Crews clad in full breathing apparatus from Ashburton, Rakaia, Hinds and Willowby worked throughout the early hours of Wednesday to ship in water, contain and extinguish the fire. “It’s destroyed the building, so we were basically working to put it out,” Burgess said. Rain began to fall in the early hours of Wednesday, but Burgess
said it wouldn’t have been enough to make an impact given the scale and “sheer heat” of the blaze. The fire was eventually brought under control at around 2am and fire crews departed close to 4am, Burgess said. Yesterday, police and fire investigators were working at the scene and a security guard was positioned in the driveway. The rubble attracted a steady stream of onlookers. Ray Thompson, who started the
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gym in the 1970s before selling it to the rugby club, said he was disappointed to learn about the fire. “It’s been in a state of neglect for the past 10 years … but it’s been there for so long. It’s a piece of history,” he said. Most of the weight machines inside were home-made. “Back in the day I would go to Christchurch and do a workout, take a photo of the machine and then a friend would make it up the same in Ashburton,” Thomp-
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son said. “Over the years other members added machines like pedal bikes.” Although it had become run down and a lot less frequently used, the space had proven particularly popular with campers and visitors to the area, who enjoyed the retro feel of the place.
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