WORKERS at a Galway city clothing factory face an uncertain future after part of the premises was destroyed by fire yesterday.
The storage area of the Farah (Export) Ireland Ltd plant, off Seamus Quirke Road, was destroyed by the blaze, which four fire brigade units took two hours to bring under control after being called to the scene at 2 p.m.
Members of the company's management will inspect the premises today. Initial estimates put the damage at about £100,000.
A fire brigade spokesman said: "The cause of the fire was unclear. There had been no sign of a break in and the 8,000 square metre premises had been unoccupied since Friday."
The factory, which employs 70 people, is a distribution point for the main manufacturing plant at Kiltimagh in Co Mayo. Employees in Galway wash and cut fabric and press trousers made by the 180 workers in Kiltimagh.
One employee said that the Co Mayo plant would be seriously affected because a large consignment of fabric had sustained smoke damage. Laundry and computer equipment were also affected.
The fire, which appeared to have originated near pallets and pre assembled boxing used to pack the company's finished products, caused extensive structural damage to the building.
Firemen had to use axes to break through three steel loading bay doors.
The storage area of the plant was damaged in a previous fire in the summer of 1994.
The premises was originally owned by Wrangler, but was taken over by the English and American Farah company in the early 1980s.
A dispute which arose last November between management and workers was expected to be resolved this month following a recommendation from the Labour Relations Commission.