# Cranham Motorhomes fire 21/6/10



## Murano (Mar 22, 2006)

Major fire at Cranham Motorhomes this morning see, http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/LastestIncidentsContainer_21June2010z.asp
What sounded like several explosion and followed by the sky blacked out with smoke for over an hour. Looked like it was under control by about 10.00am. (smoke had stopped)
Should imagine theres going to be an awful lot of damage there.


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## RedSonja (May 22, 2006)

Some of our members on here store their campervans at Cranhams. Hope they are all OK.

Sonja


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## carolynis21 (Dec 4, 2009)

*Is our MH OK ?*

Cranhams took delivery of our MH last week, with handover scheduled for Friday - not been able to get any news from them, waiting anxiously for a call tomorrow.


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## dawnwynne (Nov 14, 2009)

Fingers crossed for you Carol.


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## Friant (Feb 10, 2008)

we were booked in to take our van in for some minor repairs this morning - thank goodness it wasn't already in the workshop. Trying to get through to them, will post an update when I have some news.


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## chapter (May 1, 2005)

i lot of damage see here


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## sarah106 (May 18, 2008)

Well, we've only heard this morning (Tues)! We dropped our 3 week old Swift Conqueror 645 off on Sunday for faults to be fixed and the tracker to be sorted out (hasn't worked from day 1). Nobody has bothered to call us, it was only through calling them this morning to tell them that the tracker people were coming tomorrow to fix the tracker that we heard about this. They are saying a gas valve has gone through the side of our caravan but to be honest we don't know full details and have been told we can't go there! The caravan is full with our belongings and we're fearing the worst. There goes our Summer :-( To be honest we are not impressed with Cranhams, customer service is non existent. Not impressed with the Swift caravan faults either (you don't expect a brand new caravan costing almost £21,000) to have a faulty fridge after using the caravan only 4 days - also water leaking underneath first night we had it, handbrake not working, the list is endless. Hope other people find their vans/motorhomes etc are ok. I think ours is not. Cannot believe we didn't get a call about this. Disgraceful.


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## Friant (Feb 10, 2008)

The service centre is out of action for at least two weeks.
I agree with the previous post, we had to call Cranhams ourselves, no call from them to inform us that we shouldn't bring our 'van in.If it wasn't for this excellent site being the first with information we'd have made a wasted 2 hour journey


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## dawnwynne (Nov 14, 2009)

Hi Sarah

Very sorry to hear the bad news about your motorhome. 

I would think though in fairness they probably haven't had a chance to get in touch with everyone as it only happened yesterday. Not only are they probably in shock but I'm pretty sure they can't access the site until they are told it is safe. Also who knows what records have even been saved if any so they can make those calls? I realise there are some losses here and perhaps some inconvience to others but give them a break and a chance!

Again, so sorry about your loss but I'm also sorry about the loss of this business as well. There are no winners here lets just hope everyones insurance is sufficient.


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## GerryD (Sep 20, 2007)

The news is devastating for everyone concerned, but the fact is that the site does not belong to Cranhams until it has been declared safe and forensic examinations have been completed.
It is only 24 hours since the fire was extinguished and there were several gas bottles involved. These remain volatile until they have cooled and been declared safe.
I am sure that Cranhams are doing everything possible, but as has been said they also have to get over the shock and gain access to records.
Gerry


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## joedenise (Jul 20, 2007)

sarah 106

agree with you but its not only swifthas problems we had a new 

Elddis caravan from cranham which was **** then bought a new twin

axel Bailey but that had a water feature in bathroom we rejected it 

as not fit for purpose and got a new van.

then exchanged that for a motorhome

joe


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## camper69 (Aug 30, 2007)

GerryD said:


> The news is devastating for everyone concerned, but the fact is that the site does not belong to Cranhams until it has been declared safe and forensic examinations have been completed.
> It is only 24 hours since the fire was extinguished and there were several gas bottles involved. These remain volatile until they have cooled and been declared safe.
> I am sure that Cranhams are doing everything possible, but as has been said they also have to get over the shock and gain access to records.
> Gerry


On the other hand they should have swung their well rehearsed "Business Interruption Plan" into gear, retrieved all their data from the off site back ups and got intouch with all clients and suppliers to inform them of their pre arranged temporary facilities till their own are back up and running.

I am sure that all other business are just as well prepared. :roll: :roll:

Derek


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## cranham (Jun 22, 2010)

Hi

One of my customers telephoned me and suggested I should place a statement on your forum. Good evening. I am from Cranham, my name is Ian, I am one of the partners. I have read some of the comments and I am sure everyone possibly deems them valid, good or bad.

I just wish to explain to Sarah106, why she may not have received a telephone call. Which I am sure is a valid point.

As I understand it, this is what happened yesterday, but I was away on business. So the information has been passed onto me.

The fire started at approx 8am. The premises was evacuted and the fire brigade (who must be congrataluted, because they do a great job) attended. No person was permitted into the property until it was made safe (which was late yesterday afternoon). Bearing in mind all the staff were advised to go home. The only persons remaining behind was the shop manager who was asked to explain where the gas was contained near the shop at an early stage, and my younger brother. My middle brother and I was in Germany on route to visit Frankia. In the late afternoon, when the fire was made safe, my younger brother and the shop manager (plus his wife who stayed behind) were told they can go and sit only in the office contained in the house which is way away from the fire, they were told not to venture anywhere else. This was to answer the telephone in case anyone was concerned and needed information (however, this was very limited). Police officers were asked to seal off the area.

I got the first flight back, which meant I arrived to see the extent of the damage at approx 8.30-9.00pm.

The area had to be treated as a crime scene until the fire expert engineer deemed it not a crime scene, which was late last night (21st). This morning, the loss adjusters appointed by the insurance company deemed the sales area a no go zone to everyone, until their forensic scientist had surveyed the area, plus the loss adjusters had to take statements from the staff.

Sarah106, I acknowledge your comments, but please try to acknowledge we were unable to fully identify the damage and who to contact because we didnt have any chance to inspect all the vehicles until late morning this morning.

Bearing in mind no customers were allowed onto the site and the gates were locked. I was asked if you could come down to inspect the damage, (as it turned out, your caravan was the only customers caravan damaged). I felt it was not an issue, and allowed you to inspect the caravan as you had asked. You will also note about five or six of my staff actually assisted you to carry all your personal belongings out of the caravan. I was given the impression we tried to assist. Obviously, not to your satisfaction.

I am deeply saddened by the damage to your caravan, which you know was caused by a gas valve on top of a gas bottle being projected through the side of the caravan side wall leaving a 20mm diameter hole. I am sure we will endeavour to work with our insurance provider to work to suitably address the situation. But it is in such an early stage.

The forensic scientist will take at least another three days and we will be closed to the public until he approves we can tidy up and permit public entry.

At first sight, it appears a sold motorhome which was parked adjacent to our shop has caught fire (yet to establish how, but not deemed arson). This then spread to our accessory shop (not the workshop as reported in news dispatches), and then along the caravan stock placed on display beside it. There are approximately 15 burnt to the ground caravans, and about another 30 caravans suffering heat damage in varying forms, (from minor to major). Plus about 12 motorhomes suffering heat damage, or damage from projectiles being fired about the site from the gas bottle explosions.

The good news is no one was hurt. It did happened before we were open to the public.

I am sure, there may be comments on here following my statement. I just wish to apologise to sarah106 if she felt we neglected her. Plus any other customer who felt we did not contact them who may have had a vehicle with us. But please try to understand we were unable to follow any real precedure. Plus, I think a lot of staff were actually shocked and horrified at the damage. Plus had to be interviewed.

At this point I should like to personally thank anyone who has passed on their kind wishes, they all know who they are, thank you.

We hope to open really as quickly as is possible. Maybe this weekend if we can. Any customers who have vehicles with us or who are due to collect or drop off. Please can you be patient and we will hopefully let you know when we will open, as soon as we can.

In the meantime, if anyone needs accessories, please contact Countryside Leisure on 01245 381382, or www.countrysideleisure.co.uk. Our vehicle sales and workshops will function as soon as we are permitted to open.

Thank you for reading this. I will end with the fact I will probably not post another statement or answer any questions as I am trying to work on the damage and concentrate on opening as soon as is practical.

I am sorry if we caused any inconvience to anyone as of a result of the fire.


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## RedSonja (May 22, 2006)

Hi Ian

Thanks for posting. As you say no one was hurt (thank god for that) 

Your staff and family must be in shock and I wish them and you well in your recovery.

Hopefully people will be patient and understand that you are doing what you can to help (including posting on this forum)

Sonja

PS For the record I have no dealings with Cranham (just visit often for a lookie) Tey are a fairly local business to me and I wish them well for the future.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Here Here*



dawnwynne said:


> Hi Sarah
> 
> Very sorry to hear the bad news about your motorhome.
> 
> ...


Well said.

Thankfully nobody was injured.

I feel sorry for the People who own the business.

TM


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## AndrewandShirley (Oct 13, 2007)

Its refreshing to see this forum now has the "power" or "membership database" to enable business people like Ian to come online and give an very good account of themselves.

Clearly this was a serious incident and I think Ian deserves all the support to build up his business.

I am sorry one of our memebrs was not satisfied but I am sure the two of them can work this out.

We have no connection with Cranhams.


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

We've never bought from Cranham, but we've visited a number of times when we lived fairly local to them, and always found their staff courteous and knowledgeable.

It's a shock to hear this news. As we were driving around the M25 today, on our way back from Germany / France, I did consider suggesting we dropped off to a quick lookie. However, we wanted to get back home before the rush hour and get ourselves sorted.

Thanks, Ian, for taking the time to explain the situation. I'm sure you have more important things to be doing just now. I wish you well for the future, and hope you get back trading as soon as possible.

Gerald


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

We bought our current M/H from Cranhams and would certainly buy from them again.

As already said thankfully no one was hurt caravans a Motorhomes can easily be replaced.


It is nice to here the full story from the man at the top as well. 




Richard...


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Yes indeed Richard, and it gives the other side of the story doesn't it! :roll:

_"Bearing in mind no customers were allowed onto the site and the gates were locked. I was asked if you could come down to inspect the damage, (as it turned out, your caravan was the only customers caravan damaged). I felt it was not an issue, and allowed you to inspect the caravan as you had asked. You will also note about five or six of my staff actually assisted you to carry all your personal belongings out of the caravan. I was given the impression we tried to assist. Obviously, not to your satisfaction.

I am deeply saddened by the damage to your caravan, which you know was caused by a gas valve on top of a gas bottle being projected through the side of the caravan side wall leaving a 20mm diameter hole. I am sure we will endeavour to work with our insurance provider to work to suitably address the situation. But it is in such an early stage."_

I'd say this was far more than could reasonably be expected so soon after the event, and it sounds like Ian (from Cranham) had to bend the rules to allow Sarah106 onto the premises, not to mention all the help she received to empty her caravan.

I wonder if she will come back with a further comment? :?

Dave


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## dawnwynne (Nov 14, 2009)

Probably not as I didn't notice till afterwards that was her first post.

Thank you Ian and good luck for the future....a lot of hard work ahead of you and I wish you every success.


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## JohnsCrossMotorHomes (Jul 21, 2007)

It is amazing how the odd person comes out of the woodwork to try and beat a man down when hes on his knees in shock seeing a major part of his business destroyed through no fault of his own.

Six years ago I had the same thing happen to us with a fire in the Sales Office eventually traced to a PC catching fire in there.

We had the Home Office forensics people in ferreting about and no one was allowed in the building which eventually had to be demolished and totally rebuilt and it was a long hard slog.

Fortunately we had a good insurance broker who dealt with the matter and the Norwich Union were good in settling the Claim, it still cost me another £250,000 in the end on top of the insurance payout.

I do not envy Ian and his partners the uphill struggle and the grief and extra work rebuilding and settling the inumerable details involved especially at this time, the busy part of our season.

Good luck Cranhams

Peter


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## duxdeluxe (Sep 2, 2007)

Thanks for posting and thanks for explaining the situation so clearly. It is sometimes difficult for someone not involved to fully understand that a fire scene is a potential crime scene and needs thorough investigation even after the fire is out and safe.

Like everyone on here, I wish you all the best to get it all sorted out and back up and running really soon.

Cheers!


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## catzontour (Mar 28, 2007)

Well done Cranhams for taking the time to come on the forum and explain the situation, when you surely have more pressing things to worry about, but it does wonders for customer relations.

We've no connection with Cranhams other than having visited once, but just want to wish you well for the future and to say, as has been said before, at least no one was injured.

Catz


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## ImaHeadaU (May 26, 2009)

Sitting here in Canada, I happened to go to Cranham's web site and saw mention of the fire there. I then checked news reports and now I've seen Ian's post here.

My van is stored at Cranham and it's heartening to learn that it should be fine.

I wish the management and staff all the best and hope that they'll get things resolved as well and as quickly as possible.


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

I do wish Cranhams well and believe they've done everything they can in the circumstances, but perhaps (as has been mentioned before) this episode is a reminder to all you small businesses out there of the importance of business continuity planning.

Small changes that can be made which make dealing with a nightmare like this slightly more bearable:

- rather than relying on paper records, have your data (particularly CRM stuff such as appointments/customer contacts) in electronic form, preferably held in "cloud" form, i.e. held on t'internet so that if you lose your office facilities, you can still access.

- although unpopular with many, use an 08 number because in this type of situation you simply change the delivery number to somewhere that you can access, versus an 01/02 number that will ring out in an out-of-bounds office. (Although there are companies, ahem, my own, that can offer you this facility on geographic numbers).

Paul


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## sparky_speedy (Sep 20, 2005)

We store our m/home at Cranhams and managed to speak to someone manning the phones on the day of the fire who confirmed that apart from the damage mentioned previously, at a quick glance, only one caravan was damaged in the storage compound. This was a great relief to us.

Paul went today to look at ours and it is fine. 

We have always had a good service from Cranhams, have bought 2 motorhomes from them and use them for storage. 

In view of the seriousness of the fire, it was very lucky it didn't happen in working hours and we wish them well.


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## carolynis21 (Dec 4, 2009)

*Re: Is our MH OK ?*



carolynis21 said:


> Cranhams took delivery of our MH last week, with handover scheduled for Friday - not been able to get any news from them, waiting anxiously for a call tomorrow.


I must thank Ian for his post. We were called at 09:30 Tuesday morning with the good news that our MH was spared, but handover would be delayed (understandably) as forensics still on site & that we would be contacted Thursday to confirm new date.

We had a further call today to advise that they are trying best for handover this weekend. We cant fault customer services, and cant begin to imagine the stress this has caused all staff (regardless of how many contingency plans companies have in place we cant imagine how staff would have felt, in reality it's a huge shock and traumatic to deal with). Thankfully no-one was injured.

Carolyn


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## dragonflyer (Nov 4, 2007)

*Cranham - Fire*

Thanks to Ian for so clearly explaining the situation that has damaged his family business.

I am sorry too that Sarah106 who was so quick to complain about the situation, has not had the grace to apologise for her lack of understanding. Ian reports that Sarah was able to remove her valuables with assistance from the staff. Why was this stuff still in the van when it was to have some work carried out on it? We always strip the van so that there can be no misunderstandings.

I am also irritated that a 20mm hole is such a disaster. It can be covered by Duct Tape until the insurance is sorted out. But then I lived in London during WWII - life was tough.

Regretfully
Joyce


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

*Re: Cranham - Fire*



dragonflyer said:


> I am sorry too that Sarah106 who was so quick to complain about the situation, has not had the grace to apologise for her lack of understanding. Joyce


The MHF stats indicator is not all that reliable, but it says that Sarah106 has not logged on since 12-06-10, at 21:46.

If she is on holiday or indisposed in some way, then I'm sure we all understand and await her response with interest.

On the other hand, if she just came onto the forum to have a rant and slag off a most unfortunate dealer in the direst of circumstances (_it does happen_!! 8O ) I guess we'll be happy if she doesn't come back. MHF does not need members like that. :roll:

Mustn't pre-judge though. She is innocent until proven guilty . . . of failing to respond to Cranham's explanation that is!!

Dave


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## cranham (Jun 22, 2010)

Good evening all.

I am grateful for the kind words recently written by the majority of folk using this forum. Thank you.

I am pleased to state that our staff at Cranham have shown a bit of the 'bulldog spirit' and they have all really mustered together. All being well, we will be re-opened again on Saturday morning for Sales. Our aftersales will recommence on Monday morning. We will endeavour to try to continue our operation as best as we can within the interim period whilst we attempt resume normal business.

Sadly, our accessory shop is lost, so I would encourage folk who need accessories or spares to contact Countryside Leisure at Hatfield Peverel, near Chelmsford. CM3 2JP. 01245 381382. Their shop is as large as the one we had! www.countrysideleisure.co.uk.

As of yet, no conclusion has been drawn on the exact cause of the fire to the vehicle that the fire was initiated. The forensic scientists are still attempting to sieve through the area.

Just to draw a line under one of the comments I made in my original statement. I think Sarah106 has kindly acknowledged our attempts to assist, but may have misplaced the posting onto the wrong forum; please see:- http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/u-shaped-lounge/25079-fire-cranham-caravans.html (for some reason the link does not work, it short types it as fun and should be motorhome fun) Thank you folks.

I am sure we will resolve both our issues as soon as is practicalably possible.

I haven't had the time to read many other threads. But I will state that some time ago. One of my manufacturing suppliers Mr Peter Smith, from the Swift Group, asked me to contribute onto this forum as he positively praised it's content. I trust that one day I will be able to get my head above water, and maybe I might even venture above the purapit!

Good luck, I hope I have not attempted to try to advertise on this post and gain any advantage from my words. But I personally wish you all happy motorcaravanning. It's a lovely way of life!


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Cranham*

To all at Cranham

Welcome to the forum, and I would like to have been offering that welcome under better circumstances for you. Hope you stick around and get to know us for the good, bad and indifferent. Various trade members are here such as Johns Cross, Swift, Chelston, Roadpro, Vanbitz and more, all clearly using their trade name as you have.

Hope your premises get sorted out soon etc.

Russell


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## apop (Jun 24, 2010)

i am glad no one was hurt and caravans /motorhomes can be replaced ,ian is a top man and have had many dealings with him and cranham staff over many years all have been good.
i am sure cranham will be up and running in no time looking better then ever.


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## camper69 (Aug 30, 2007)

Hope you are back to normal soon.

Derek


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## 96299 (Sep 15, 2005)

Hi Cranham

I would just like to add that I hope you get up and running again very soon. As you say, at least no-one was hurt. The vans and motorhomes can be repaired/ replaced. Good luck.

Steve


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## ob1 (Sep 25, 2007)

It's sad to note that it's over three weeks now that Sarah106 posted her note of disappointment with Cranham, but has never followed this up. 

If my information is correct she could have advised us that Cranham and their insurers have already replaced her damaged caravan with an identical brand new model. Not bad going given the circumstances they find themselves in.

On the face of it she appears to have found the forum quickly enough to criticise but not to give credit when it is due.

Ron


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

Many people are very quick to slag a company off, but not so many give prase.

Like you say if Cranhams have now sorted out this situation quickly it would have been nice for the OP to let evenone know.




Well done Cranhams


Richard....


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