Bodyline Collision Panel and Paint owner Sean Blair said his panelbeating business in Wharf St would not reopen and his 11 staff had found work elsewhere.
Mr Blair had investigated restarting the business, but as he was looking at possible sites, some businesses he worked for withdrew support.
After his premises was gutted by fire, he had continued running Hertz's Dunedin agency from Ellisons Aluminium next door but the rental car company decided to drop him.
A couple of days later, IAG New Zealand - the parent company of seven general insurance companies he worked for - called to say he had lost his accreditation and he could not start any work for IAG companies, until he was reinstated.
The IAG announcement was ''harsh'' but he was philosophical about losing the work.
''I didn't beat myself up about it, I didn't cry myself to sleep.''
He was proud of the impression he had made on the panelbeating industry in the 11 years since starting the business.
The staff spent a month ''mapping out'' the more than $1million of damage, including 27 vehicles, stock and machinery.
Fire investigators told him the blaze began when a sanding unit failed, igniting nearby material, he said.
As he was not restarting the business, his staff's tools were not covered by insurance, so he would replace them, at a cost of about $54,000.
He expected to give to his former staff the new tools next week, he said.
The whole experience since the fire had been ''mind-blowing''.
He urged other business owners to review their insurance cover and work closely with their broker, to ensure they were suitably covered. His insurance company had been ''outstanding'' since the fire, he said.
After everything was settled, he intended to go on holiday, his first in seven years.
He planned to leave his cellphone in Dunedin, take his surfboard and fly to Auckland to tour the North Island for a fortnight.
''I need to take a few steps back, and just smile a bit, and take a massive breath and think, what am I going to do now?''
