Some of the destruction caused by the blaze on Friday night.

The blaze that ravaged the Blue Sky furniture factory in Marsa on Friday night gutted the building and happened just a few months after a major revamp, according to its owners.

Speaking outside the charred factory, business director Matthew Attard said yesterday the fire had turned the building into a near total loss. “We just refurbished the building a few months ago and carried out other alterations at the end of last year, and now everything has been destroyed overnight,” he said.

It was not yet established what had caused the fire at the factory, but Mr Attard said firefighters traced the flames back to a neighbouring field, which he said had been abandoned for several years.

Civil Protection Department personnel told Mr Attard that the flames had reached the factory’s internal yard and spread throughout the building via the air ventilation system.

We had varnish and plenty of wood in the factory, as you can imagine. It was like lighting a match in a bonfire once the flames got inside

“We had varnish and plenty of wood in the factory as you can imagine. It was like lighting a match in a bonfire once the flames got inside,” he said.

As Mr Attard was speaking, firefighters were called to return for a third time to the ruined factory, as small flames were seen again in the workshop and upstairs offices.

“It’s like a barbeque in there. We keep trying to turn it off but it keeps catching,” Mr Attard said as his brother, Nikolai, emerged from the smoky hallway with bundles of papers he had salvaged from the mess.