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CENTERVILLE -- The owner of a Centerville building supply company that burned to the ground last July has rebuilt the family business. His inspiring story shows what people can do when they simply get up and get to work.
On July 26, 2010, some roofers unknowingly sparked a fire on the roof of Colonial Building Supply -- Fred Hale's family business of more than 25 years.
The store was destroyed in the four-alarm blaze. Yet when we interviewed Hale days after, he was taking it all in stride.
"This is nothing," Hale said. "It's really nothing. We've been through a lot in the last month, and this is absolutely nothing."
A few weeks before the fire, Hale's son-in-law, Will Packer, the husband of his only daughter, died suddenly from a heart attack at the age of 29. While the family was coping with his loss, they suffered another blow: Hale's niece died following a battle with cancer.
Hale was on his way back from his niece's funeral when he got a phone call saying his business was on fire. Back then, he was determined to rise above the ashes.
"We can rebuild," he told KSL News. And now he has.
"It's just been a good, good, uplifting experience," Hale says.
Colonial is back open for business. Hale's customers and the community rallied around his small business. They helped with the clean-up and the rebuilding. Among the workers: Will Packer's parents.
"You kind of start believing in people again, you know? They've really helped out," Hale says.
Everything in the store is new except for the countertop, which formerly served as the roof's beam.
Hale says if he has taken anything away from the last six months, it's that you can overcome the trials you face if you simply roll up your sleeves.
"Get up in the morning, put on your boots and go to work. To me, that's the way I can get through it," Hale says. "Life gets better. Life gets better every day."
Inside the new store there's a plaque posted with the quote from our interview with Hale last summer saying he would rebuild. He says it serves as a reminder of how far they have come.
E-mail: jstagg@ksl.com
