One year on from a devastating fire which destroyed a shopping centre in Perth's north-east, the pain for business owners who lost what they had spent years working on is still raw.

"Seven years I worked hard for my business, and in one night I lost everything," said Mojgan Fakhar, who owned Frida Tattoo Studio at the Morley Market.

"For like two or three weeks … I couldn't even think … it was really hard."

Ms Fakhar's business was one of many ruined in the fire, which last September gutted the shopping centre that had stood in the heart of Morley for decades.

The market housed more than 20 stores and restaurants, most of which were family-run.

While some have managed to re-establish their businesses at other sites, others are still on the hunt for somewhere to start again.

Mohammad Frahim, who ran Monte Carlo Hairstylists, a barber shop within the complex, said despite his best efforts, finding a new site had so far proven impossible.

"It's very hard to re-establish; some people they get a chance, they can do it, some people … are not getting that chance," Mr Frahim said.

"I'm trying to get back to my business, but it's very hard, because you need a lot of money as well.

"Every day I'm looking in the marketplace, and for any barber shop for sale, but it's hard to find."

Ms Fakhar has moved into a smaller site nearby, but it's an ongoing battle.

"Emotionally I've tried to get back to normal, but still it's not normal or the same as before.

"I rebuilt it, not as big as before, not as equipped as before, but I tried my best to have a nice place for my clients again."

Cause still unknown

In a bitter blow to business owners, authorities could not determine the cause of the fire because of the severe level of damage.

A Department of Fire and Emergency Services debrief document written after the blaze, seen by the ABC, details problems identified during its investigation, including that a "local alarm" was not operational.

The debrief said "early detection of the fire would have occurred" if the local alarm had been working and it might have resulted in early containment.

For business owners, that was a tough pill to swallow.

Mina Eshan, who lost more than $200,000 worth of assets when Bella Skin Clinic was gutted in the fire, said there were still too many unanswered questions.

"It's not just about money or compensation, it's about something like this not happening again, and not putting other people's lives in danger," she said.

Insurance proving tricky

A number of business owners say they have run into problems getting any of what they lost back through insurance, with some left to regret not having taken out contents protection.

"That was my biggest mistake," Mr Frahim said.

"I had public liability insurance for the shop, but not the contents.

"Three or four times I called [the insurance company], and the receptionist [said] he will call me, but I never got a call back."

Mr Frahim said the owners of the destroyed businesses were in desperate need of government support.

"The government should take some decision for the shopkeepers as well, who don't have insurance, who lost the business, lost everything, so somewhere we need help as well."

The City of Bayswater said it had done what it could to support the affected businesses.

"The city quickly established a recovery hub at Morley Library, partnering with a number of agencies and arranging for translators to be onsite across community drop-in sessions, aimed at providing support and advice to affected business owners, employees, tenants and customers," Bayswater Mayor Filomena Piffaretti said in a statement.

"Space was also made available at Morley Library for appointments between service providers and impacted business owners."

Ms Piffaretti said the city had not yet received any applications to redevelop the site, which remained vacant and fenced off.

Meanwhile, a multi-million-dollar upgrade of the Morley Galleria shopping centre is well and truly underway across the road.