Fire at The Foxton Centre

On Sunday night, the local fire brigade were called to The Foxton Centre to fight a fire that was already raging. Fortunately they came in time to save our building from what appears to be a deliberately started fire.

The fire started outside the building and spread through a window, causing extensive damage to the inside of The Centre.

The damage is still being discovered, with smoke reaching where the flames didn’t. It will take us weeks, if not months, to return to operate again at full capacity.

In the mean time, we intend to run whatever services we can, and are currently investigating other venues for the Community Café and youth clubs in particular.

Although it is upsetting for the staff who work for The Foxton Centre, we are not the victims. The victims are our service users.

The 10 year olds who have no youth club to go to; the rough sleepers who cannot take a shower or have a fresh set of clothing; the vulnerable adults who have nowhere to go that they feel safe.

They are the ones who have had their Centre taken from them for the foreseeable future. That is what is most upsetting to us, the staff. We don’t just see a burnt building, we see all of the people who will suffer as a result.

We will, however, continue to offer whatever services we can from whatever venues we have available to us. We are grateful for all of the positive messages of support that poured in. At present our hands are tied in what we can physically do with the building, but there are still ways you can help us:

Donating online – (we foresee unexpected costs in using other people’s space for our projects)

Buying one of our Brewing For Change  mugs, either online or directly from The Centre.

Donating to our Hungry Campaign, either online or at Ravenous or Café Fresch

Donating items or vouchers for our silent auction

Attending our event at the Minster, May 16.

Continuing to be our advocates by spreading the word about the important work we do in and for Preston.