Tire shop damaged in fire finds new, but old home

HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT) - After a fire destroyed a tire shop on Sunday, the owner is left to pick up the pieces.

Owner of Crowe Tire & Battery James Crowe was out of the country when he received calls saying his store was on fire.

“And then seeing all of that, it was pretty rough too. As we sit on where we was at, we had to sit there and look at it on Facebook and people calling, messages,” he said.

However, the tire shop is back in its original location on Allais Rd.

Crowe said he originally bought the building in 1999 and stayed for more than a decade until they outgrew it.

“We stayed here until 2011, I bought the property at the other location and then got the garage built, got everything remodeled and built and moved into it April 7, 2012 and we have been there until now,” he explained.

He said that he still owned the building despite leaving 12 years ago.

Crowe said he was surprised that after the fire, the building was still standing.

“As much damage that was done to that building, it is hard to believe that it burnt the trusts off of the building, but the wood floors, the tires were on are still there. You tell me how that happened, I mean that is just the Lord’s will, I guess, I do not know, but the Lord is with us, he has brought us this far and we know that we are going to be okay,” he explained.

Despite the struggles, Crowe said that they are not going anywhere.

“There are rumors going around on Facebook, ‘Well they are gone, they are out.’ We are not out, we are down but we are not out,” he said.

Even though the building is a loss, Crowe said that will not stop him.

“We are going to rebuild, there are not going to be no if’s, and’s or but’s about it... We are coming back,” he explained.

Without all of the love and support, Crowe said that this would not be possible.

“I am thankful for all of the customers that I have gotten, all of the friends and people that reached out to us. By text, message, call, stops, hugs, all of the prayers... It means a lot,” he said.

Crowe said that with help from the community, he will take things one day at a time.

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