Eli Baraty has vowed to rebuild his eBaTT club after a devastating fire destroyed their London base.

The table tennis community is rallying round, and a crowdfunding campaign has been launched by some of the club’s young players after last Thursday night’s blaze.

Eli admits eBaTT is “in limbo” after the fire ripped through a huge warehouse near Staples Corner, north London, which was home to dozens of organisations. Reports say it took around 150 firefighters several hours to put out the blaze.

The club, which had been based on the site for four years, is planning to open what would have been its second centre about five miles away in Barnet, but it is not ready yet, meaning the players are effectively homeless.

Eli said: “They’re investigating the cause, and until we know about that then we won’t know about the insurance and we won’t know if the owners are going to rebuild, so we’re in limbo. I’m looking for a new place, that’s all I can do.”

Eli said the damage was considerable: “One table has gone completely, even the metal, you can see it in the ashes. The other three are still standing, but damaged, so I think the one that’s gone is probably where part of the roof fell in.

“I think there’s very little that can be salvaged. The biggest losses are the lighting, which we had specially made, and the flooring, plus the fireproof curtains on the walls – they actually worked, it was the roof falling in which was the problem.

“We had bats and balls and other equipment as well, so it’s hard to pinpoint the total loss. I’d say it’s £15-20,000. But the biggest thing is the players are homeless.

“Stanmore, Flick and Barnet Table Tennis Clubs have all reached out to us and offered players the chance to practise, which we’re so grateful for. I’ve told the players to go to other clubs if they can, to make sure they stay in the game.”

In a cruel twist of fate, the fire was on Eli’s 44th birthday and club members had surprised him with a party at the venue earlier in the day.

“We had an amazing day, so many people showed up and surprised me,” he said. “I just went into work as normal, to do some coaching, and all of a sudden a whole load of people turned up and my family came down.

“Max (England junior Max Radiven) did a phenomenal video showing what we had built over four years, and naturally it was very emotional for me.

“Then as my family was there, we decided to go out for a meal. About half an hour later, Sammy (Kaye) rang and said everyone was out, but there was a fire.

“There were about 15 people in the building and they had evacuated. As long as everyone was safe, that’s the only thing that’s truly important.

“I went back to the club and saw the smoke coming from a few sections down from ours, but I couldn’t really see any flames, so I was quite optimistic at first.

“Then I saw the fire come through the roof and I realised it was starting to get serious, and after about 15 or 20 minutes it went through the whole building.

“That was when it got painful, because everything I’d built up, I was watching it go up in flames.

“But I built it for the community, it’s not about me. You have to accept the situation and the important part for me is to stay strong and resilient and look for solutions.

“We’re hoping the second centre all goes through and then we can host about 50 per cent of what we had, and then hopefully find another place and rebuild for everyone.”

In the meantime, young eBaTT players Max Radiven, Ben Levi and Janak Shah have launched a campaign on Gofundme. The page says: “eBaTT was more than just a table tennis club – it was a community, a place that felt like one big, happy family. Losing it has been heartbreaking for all of us.”

Click here to make a donation: https://www.gofundme.com/f/bring-ebatt-back-stronger-after-the-flames

Eli said: “It’s a massive help because I don’t know how long the insurance will take to come through, and we can support the coaches with their income. Then, when I find somewhere, I can quickly use that money to get things sorted very fast.”

Chris Brown, Director of Table Tennis Development at Table Tennis England, said: “Our thoughts go out everyone at eBaTT at this time, and we are exploring how we can support the club using some of the equipment we’ve got off the back of the World Championships.”