Late this morning (Tuesday 21 April), a fire started at the back of the Village Supermarket. At this stage it too early to speculate on the cause. The fire was attended by seven Fire Brigade appliances which managed to bring the fire under control. Staff from Bevans the Butchers helped in trying to salvage some stock and possessions from the flat above. Bevans themselves have suffered some damage to their refrigeration unit, which the extent of it is still to be assessed.
The Village Supermarket and Post Office will be closed for the foreseeable future. Hopefully the damage to Bevans is only superficial and they will be able to reopen soon.
EFFRA sends its deepest sympathy to Bala Chandran, the shop owner, for the loss of his business, especially during these terrible times. We hope that he will be able to reopen the shop sometime in the not too distant future. Hopefully the insurance cover will in some small way help.
Some images from the scene
Fire at back of shop 
Fire at back of shop 
So sad to see this news. Our Village Supermarket staff and owners are so obliging and helpful particularly at this difficult time. I am very grateful to them and hope to see it all up an running again in the future.
For those who want to help, I have set up a donations page to help Bala and the Effingham Village Supermarket, which is an independent family run business.
http://www.gofundme.com/f/effingham-supermarket
Please could you show support at this awful time by donating and/or sharing this page. Many residents (myself included) rely on them being open and running as normal as quickly as possible.
Thank you!
Sad news but please support the go fund page that has been set up – good luck and take care
http://www.gofundme.com/f/effingham-supermarket
Out of this desperately tragic event and impact to a hard working team’s business, it is fantastic to see the local community rallying the generous and kind spirited support. Well done to those who have started deserved iniatives to support at this difficult time. I hope we will soon see their business up and running as usual.