Fire shelves three downtown businesses (Oakville, Canada) (Read 320 times)

Thought I'd share the unfortunate story of how our local running shop was very nearly lost in a fire on 1/14. It would seem that the blaze likely started on the top level of the two storey commercial building - home to a nail spa, a salon and The Running Company. Had it not been for broken water pipes, the entire building might have been lost to the fire. Luckily, no one was hurt. The Running Company, and its owner, Greg McKinnon have faithfully supported the Oakville running community for 10 years. Greg and the TRC have long been sponsors of the running group to which I belong (Canada Fit) and offer discounts of 15% to our members. He is regular contributor on gears and wears to our post-long run Saturday morning discussions. They also host free Learn to Run Clinics at their Thomas Street store in downtown Oakville. The situation is a bit dire. The smoke from the fire destroyed all the stock. Everything from the floor is gone. In a recent local newspaper article, Greg was quoted as saying: "It's a terible time for it to hapen because I can't restock. There's nothing left to buy. I can't bring in shorts now, and there are no jackets left to buy in Canada. We stock 10 months in advance." The store will be able to buy shoes, but getting anything else, he says, "Will be a challenge." I am not sure how, or if, the running community can help. I know a couple of us talked about a few ideas this past Saturday at our weekly long run. If anyone has any ideas, please post them here and I will see if we can forward them along to Greg. I'll let you know how things progress. Also, I am attaching a link to the article for those that may be interested. http://www.haltonsearch.com/hr/ob/story/3845311p-4449881c.html