Little did Paulina Brooks know what she was in for when she landed herself the plum job as the manager of the upmarket boutique Cecile on Front Street.

The much sought after position in Bermuda's most prestigious women's clothing store turned out to be a little different from expected when a fire next door damaged hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of clothes just weeks after she started.

The entire stock of the store was smoke damaged and had to be sold off at slashed prices by the insurers BF&M at the height of the store's busiest period when it sells high-end party frocks for New Year and Christmas.

But now the store is due to reopen on February 16 at a grand re-opening with totally new stock after a whirlwind world buying spree for the new season.

"We are very excited to be re-opening with our usual designer fashions back in stock,'' said Mrs. Brooks, who worked at Laura Ashley in London before taking up the job. "The store has been redecorated and looks terrific, and we look forward to welcoming the public next Friday.'' The store originally said it would be closing until after Christmas, before the extent of the damage was known.

Although the closure could not have come at a worse time, it emerged that the entire Front Street building was just half an hour from burning down.

Cecile buyer/manager Julia Hamshere said the Fire Service told her that the landmark building would have been destroyed had firefighters arrived half an hour later.

A cleaner at Cecile discovered the building was smoke-logged at 4.45 a.m. on Saturday, December 16, after a freezer at next door Bermuda Wines and Spirits allegedly caught fire.

Staff at Cecile aired out the expensive clothes to see if any could be sold, while meetings were taking place with the company's insurers.

But all the stock was ruined, and had to be sold off as smoke-damaged and more than $100,000 of the clothes were too smoke damaged to be sold in their state.

Ms Hamshere told The Royal Gazette at the time: "We have been forced to close our doors which is a huge tragedy in the week before Christmas. It really could not have happened at a worse time, but it could have been even worse.

"It is one of those old wooden Bermuda buildings with several shops separated by light partitions. It's a huge building, like a rabbit warren, and it could have been very serious.'' Those clothes that were in a fit state to be sold as smoke-damaged, were sold at number six shed for 60 percent off on the first day, 70 the second, until the clothes were at just 10 percent of the original price.

Staff, who were kept on to help prepare for the re-opening while the store underwent industrial cleaning, will be at the opening next week.