Inside the West Coast Surf Shop, it smells acrid and smoky.
The floor is black. There is melted plastic and glass on the floor. Insulation hangs from ceilings and sunlight shines through a hole in the front wall.
The shop caught fire the afternoon of April 15 during business hours. The building suffered damage and the merchandise was destroyed, including the surfboards, which were damaged beyond repair.
Jim and Ronee Brady, owners of the surf shop in Holmes Beach since 1978, plan on rebuilding.
But their plan will take time.
It will probably take about three to six months to clean, repair and reopen the business, Jim Brady said April 19. The couple is waiting for an insurance agent to test parts of the building and for the official cause of the blaze to be determined.
West Manatee Fire Rescue marshal Jim Davis said April 15 that the fire appeared to be electrical, sparked by a neon light fixture.
Jim Brady praised the Holmes Beach Police Department and WMFR for the rapid response.
The fire climbed up through the ceiling and burned the east wall, as well as two apartment units at the east end of the building, Jim Brady said.
The apartments — including the Bradys residence — will likely have to be “stripped to the studs,” he said, and they will have to redo “everything,” including plumbing and electrical.
However, he said, they are fortunate that the frame of the building was relatively undamaged.
There were no sprinklers in the store, something Jim Brady said was normal for a building constructed in the 1970s. There were no Florida laws then mandating fire sprinkler systems.
The Bradys also are waiting for their insurance agency to determine the value of the loss, although initial estimates came in at about $250,000 for the damage, including merchandise.
Jim Brady said they also are waiting for the insurance agency to “detoxify and ionize” their apartment.
While their unit wasn’t burned in the fire, smoke and heat penetrated and the stench is toxic, Jim Brady said. Masks are required to enter the building.
On a recent day, the Brady family sat around a table outside the surf shop. Friends visited, bringing gifts and offering support. Some people stopped by to ask when the store would reopen.
“We wouldn’t be able to get through this without everybody coming by” to offer support, daughter Brandi Brady said.
Meanwhile, orders for merchandise are being canceled and the Bradys are trying to cope with the loss of home and business.
The fire couldn’t have come at a worse time for the business, Jim Brady said. The surf shop’s busy season is March through August, when the weather is warmest.
Two employees working at the store when the fire broke out did a good job getting more than 30 customers out without injury, he added.
WMFR officials discussed during their April 17 meeting a plan to honor the two employees for their efforts in the face of the fire. HBPD also is planning to recognize the two women for their courage.
“At least no one got hurt,” Jim Brady said.