Red frogs don't fear fire.

So much is obvious now that the Redfrog Laundry is having to recover from its second blaze in a year on the Pocklington Industrial Estate.

If resistance and hurdle-hopping has anything to do with it, then judges will seriously consider Paul Durham and Derek Wilkinson's venture for the Small Business Of The Year title in The Press Business Awards, 2006.

The two proprietors of York hair salon, Cube, started Redfrog after failing to negotiate a new agreement for the laundering of their towels.

So, having talked to hoteliers, restaurateurs, bar owners, beauticians and other hair salons, and with practical help from HSBC bank, they took their first hop, later expanding into linen hire.

With toy red frogs mailshotted all over the region, the word spread and business boomed.

Then a week before Christmas came fire number one, which destroyed some of the linen hire stock and a couple of machines. But staff and relatives pitched in.

By March, so many customers came on board, especially for linen hire, that space became a real issue, with the two men working until 11pm to clear the backlog.

But after a review of processes with a consultancy to identify bottlenecks and capacity, there was more investment in equipment and, by May, the factory became a two-shift operation with a full-time staff of nine.

By now there were more than 30 customers, ranging from some of York's most prestigious four-star hotels to humble guest houses plus bars and restaurants.

Then came fire number two on June 30, when in an outbreak due to a power surge to a faulty light fitting, most of its machines were lost, plus all the linen stock held overnight. The smoke damage left the factory unsuitable for laundry operation.

But a contingency plan has swung into action. Other suppliers are laundering for Redfrog and customers have vowed to stay loyal.

Plans for expansion next year remain unaltered while the factory is being rebuilt. Co-proprietor Derek Wilkinson said: "If it was meant to be easy, everyone else would be doing it."

Paul Durham said: "It won't take us long before we're back in leaps and bounds."