How quickly pivots and vigilance can help business owners survive a disaster

On October 25, a fire reportedly broke out during construction of a vacant space at the former Café Joelle site in Sayville and quickly spread to neighboring buildings, affecting Paper Doll Vintage Boutique, Crushed Olive, Boris Barber Shop, Sayville Running Company, Counseling Office of Adrian Fields & Associates and Hammer & Stain.

Right after the fire, the Greater Sayville Chamber of Commerce sprang into action, temporarily relocating affected businesses, advertising, providing signage, and creating the Main Street Fire Relief Fund, which raised $108,000 to date.

“Right now, our main priority is just to keep them alive so they can come back to their home on Main Street,” said Eileen Tyznar, president emeritus of the Sayville Chamber. “They are essential and an integral part of our high street. »

Small businesses are essential to downtown communities, notes Eric Alexander, founder of the Long Island Main Street Alliance.

“They are essential to bringing uniqueness and character to every main street on Long Island,” Alexander said. “They keep the money in the community and, especially with tragedies like this fire, it’s so important that people continue to support them.”

A few doors down from where the fire broke out is Hammer & Stain, a craft project studio and retail store that has been in business for six years. The store suffered significant water damage to the front when firefighters doused the buildings to put out the flames, notes owner Sandra Bernius. In addition to the water damage, there was extensive smoke and soot damage throughout the studio, which Bernius closed for about a month.

“We lost everything in the front half of our store,” Bernius said. “The front half of our store is our retail section and what we call our casual craft area, which is for walk-ins only, all of that is damaged. And this part of the store is closed indefinitely.

Rotate at any time

Hammer & Stain can once again accommodate back-of-house workshops, for which they have been able to build temporary walls and insulate their electrical system.

“We had to go through a checklist to be able to open up the back of the studio and run just our workshops,” Bernius said.

She recommends making sure you have good insurance that covers damage and also, in the event of a disaster, remaining flexible.

“This happened on Friday. On Sunday we were back up and running and holding workshops in another location,” Bernius said. “We opened a pop-up store with friends. It’s just about being able to pivot and keep going.

Despite recent damage to its Sayville store, Hammer & Stain is still on track to expand with a second location in the new Station Yards development in Ronkonkoma.

With its focus on supporting local businesses, Station Yards was thrilled when Hammer and Stain chose to join our community, said Meaghan Coughlan Treat, development manager of the mixed-use development.

“Shortly after signing their lease, they were faced with the challenge of a fire at their Sayville location,” Coughlan Treat said. “Despite this setback, Sandra’s resilience and determination have been an inspiration. She not only continued her expansion plans at Station Yards, but also actively participated in our events, establishing a strong presence in Ronkonkoma. We are honored to support such an exceptional small business owner and look forward to seeing Hammer and Stain thrive in Station Yards.

Take precautions and act quickly

As mentioned above, businesses affected by the Sayville Fire suffered damage from water, smoke, and heat. To reduce these effects as much as possible, Rory Bulovas, owner of Bulovas Restorations, a property damage resolution company in Ronkonkoma recommends immediate mitigation, especially in the event of any type of water or moisture.

“You need to start drying the structure as soon as possible to avoid secondary damage, such as mold growth,” Bulovas explained.

He adds that store owners should also make sure they have a good alarm system that notifies the fire department immediately.

“It doesn’t help if you have a smoke detector that just activates a sound and no one is there to hear it, it doesn’t do the firefighters any good,” Bulovas said. “Obviously, response time is key when it comes to putting out the fire as quickly as possible. »

Businesses should also have a sprinkler system in their buildings and have easy access to their fire extinguishers, he continues.

“God forbid, you have a small fire that happens, and you panic, and you don’t even remember where the fire extinguisher is, you could basically save your entire business if you knew where your fire extinguisher was in case urgently,” he said.

Bulovas also notes to take precautions regarding any potential fire hazards, such as lithium-ion batteries, which should be kept in fire-resistant bags. This also includes GFI protected outlets and non-overloading electrical strips. As the temperature drops, some business owners may also be tempted to use space heaters, which can be disastrous if they are plugged into the same electrical outlet or outlet as computer systems or other devices. electronic devices.

“I would recommend having an electrician check your circuit breaker panel to make sure all the circuit breakers are not old and that you don’t have any faulty circuit breakers,” he said.

Above all, Bulovas emphasizes having a suitable insurance policy and sufficient cover for your business, including cover for business interruption and resulting loss of income.

“A lot of people want a cheaper insurance policy to save $2,000 a year,” Bulovas said. “But you can get an additional $2,000 of coverage that can technically help you significantly in the event of a fire.”