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Troy Reed, owner of LS Building Products, did not wait long to get his business up and running again after the Feb. 11 two-alarm fire.
Reed, who has owned the building at 724 W. Jackson St. since 2001, said he got to the fire around 6 p.m.
“We wanted to make sure no one was in the building and no one got hurt. I notified the insurance company and met with them Monday to go over coverage,” Reed said. “Luckily, we had everything we needed in place — coverage on the building, business interruption insurance so our employees get paid.”
Reed said they are now at the point where they are trying to determine the cost to rebuild.
Menold Construction and Restoration has been on site since the fire Feb. 11.
“The first thing we do is restore heat, power and water. We work with the insurance company and property owner to find out what can be salvaged. We then come up with a scope of work to restore services,” said Steve Driscoll, vice president of Menold Construction and Restoration.
“In certain cases where there is large-scale damage, we’ll want to remove a portion to make the building safe.
“Our ultimate goal if it is a business is to get it up and going,” he said.
Reed said the business purchased a millwork company last summer where they have been able to produce materials for current projects.
“The material was the same we were producing and they hired all employees to work us. We’ve already made arrangements to produce doors in Mansfield, Ill.,” he said.
Reed said 100 percent of the inventory kept in the building was ruined, even on the undamaged side due to soot.
Reed said all office workers are back to work and some production workers are working with Menold Construction to get machinery out and see if any is salvageable.
For now, the plan is to work out of Mansfield, producing materials for current projects. Employees are being driven the extra mileage to Mansfield daily.
“We’ll try to start seeing what we can do to get the building back in shape. It’s going to be a long time,” Reed said.
Reed said although when he first heard of the fire he thought the worst, he was pleased with the work of the seven fire departments and the local businesses that helped.
“I think a lot has already been said, but the fire departments did an extremely good job of containing the fire. From where it was, it didn’t spread that much. We were able to salvage the rest of the building and they did a great job,” Reed said.
Driscoll said with commercial buildings, like LS Building Products, the process is quick to get started.
“Insurance carriers respond very quickly. One big road block is if there is a lot of structural damage, which would make the site unsafe for workers,” he said. “We have crews available 24/7 and this is what we do every day. It’s easy for us to go in and map out a plan.”
According to Morton Fire Chief Joe Kelley, the cause of the fire is unknown. Fire inspectors are investigating the site.
Troy Reed, owner of LS Building Products, did not wait long to get his business up and running again after the Feb. 11 two-alarm fire.
Reed, who has owned the building at 724 W. Jackson St. since 2001, said he got to the fire around 6 p.m.
“We wanted to make sure no one was in the building and no one got hurt. I notified the insurance company and met with them Monday to go over coverage,” Reed said. “Luckily, we had everything we needed in place — coverage on the building, business interruption insurance so our employees get paid.”
Reed said they are now at the point where they are trying to determine the cost to rebuild.
Menold Construction and Restoration has been on site since the fire Feb. 11.
“The first thing we do is restore heat, power and water. We work with the insurance company and property owner to find out what can be salvaged. We then come up with a scope of work to restore services,” said Steve Driscoll, vice president of Menold Construction and Restoration.
“In certain cases where there is large-scale damage, we’ll want to remove a portion to make the building safe.
“Our ultimate goal if it is a business is to get it up and going,” he said.
Reed said the business purchased a millwork company last summer where they have been able to produce materials for current projects.
“The material was the same we were producing and they hired all employees to work us. We’ve already made arrangements to produce doors in Mansfield, Ill.,” he said.
Reed said 100 percent of the inventory kept in the building was ruined, even on the undamaged side due to soot.
Reed said all office workers are back to work and some production workers are working with Menold Construction to get machinery out and see if any is salvageable.
For now, the plan is to work out of Mansfield, producing materials for current projects. Employees are being driven the extra mileage to Mansfield daily.
“We’ll try to start seeing what we can do to get the building back in shape. It’s going to be a long time,” Reed said.
Reed said although when he first heard of the fire he thought the worst, he was pleased with the work of the seven fire departments and the local businesses that helped.
“I think a lot has already been said, but the fire departments did an extremely good job of containing the fire. From where it was, it didn’t spread that much. We were able to salvage the rest of the building and they did a great job,” Reed said.
Driscoll said with commercial buildings, like LS Building Products, the process is quick to get started.
“Insurance carriers respond very quickly. One big road block is if there is a lot of structural damage, which would make the site unsafe for workers,” he said. “We have crews available 24/7 and this is what we do every day. It’s easy for us to go in and map out a plan.”
According to Morton Fire Chief Joe Kelley, the cause of the fire is unknown. Fire inspectors are investigating the site.
