That was the one question many Gilgandra locals were left asking yesterday after six stores in their main street, including the town’s only chemist, went up in flames on Saturday night.

The footpaths of Gilgandra were packed with worried citizens yesterday as they assessed the damaged caused by the fire and asked questions as to the future of the small town.

At the scene on Saturday night was Rick Withington with partner Christine Holland who said they feared for the future of Gilgandra, saying the chemist was the “lifeblood” of the town.

“We have a lot of elderly people in Gilgandra who use the chemist everyday, now they will have to go to Dubbo,” Mr Withington said.

“The fire is going to have a big impact on the town.”

Watching on as forensic crews assessed her workplace at the Commonwealth Bank, Hayley Altmann said she was unsure whether she still had a job to go back to.

She said she expected to find out more from her employer in the coming days, but said she may have to seek work in Dubbo if worst comes to worst.

“It is just going to have a big impact on the whole town,” she said.

“All the pensioners come into the branch to do their banking and they won’t be able to now.

“It has just left a lot of people without a place to work.

Long-time Gilgandra resident Lois Raglus described the devastation from the fire as being on par with the town’s 1955 floods.

“I don’t think the community will realise the full devastation of the fire for a while,” she said.

“A lot of people use the chemist and they will now have to go elsewhere.”