The Warrnambool owners of a Portland cafe gutted by fire on Sunday night say they have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the community.
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The fire, which started about 8pm Sunday night, destroyed the downstairs area of the Margaret & Agnes cafe which is in an historic building on Percy Street.
A CFA and police investigation has found the blaze was caused by an electrical fault due to an overheating fridge.
Business Partners Anthony Vecchio and Mark Thornbury said they were going about their usual Sunday night when they got the call.
Mr Thornbury was at home enjoying games night with his partner and three daughters when he received a call from an employee telling him that the cafe was on fire.
Mr Thornbury called Mr Vecchio who was out for dinner with his wife.
"We literally turned up to fire trucks everywhere and the cafe operating floor destroyed," they said in a statement.
"We at Margaret & Agnes are incredibly shocked and totally gutted.
"We had such a normal Sunday at the cafe, our regulars coming in for coffee and their Sunday brunch.
"We just had our Mexican Fiesta night on the Saturday to celebrate our first year of having our doors open to the Portland community."
The owners said they had received lots of messages of support in the 24 hours since the fire.
"We have had people come up to the cafe today and hand us cash, toasties, hugs and share their many memories that come along with such a historic building," they said.
The owners said they had been told that a Go Fund Me Page had been set up to help out.
"The support has been overwhelming," they said.
"Whilst we may have lost our whole cafe, material belongings can always be restored, but as for the true community spirit and generosity, to us, it is truly irreplaceable."
They thanked the CFA, police, staff, suppliers and landlord who have "flooded" them with support.
Portland police Sergeant Ray Hastings said there was a fire reported to emergency services soon after 7.50pm Sunday.
Sergeant Ray Hasting said four fire crews battled the blaze to bring it under control.
He said the fire damage was mainly to the ground floor but there was water damage to the basement and smoke damage to the first floor.
"There's extensive damage. Glass was heard breaking and fire was coming out the front of the building which triggered the alert being raised," he said.
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