"The" Al Bradham
Member
http://www.journalscene.com/news/Carpet ... ating-fire
Carpet Cleaning Services rising from ashes of devastating fire
Published Friday, October 21, 2011 8:47 AM
By Jim Tatum
Summerville Journal Scene ®
Oct. 18, 2010 was a perfectly beautiful autumn day in the lowcountry.
But just like that, crystal blue skies seemed to choke on a heavy black curtain of toxic smoke as flames from an electrical fire raged through a commercial building on U.S. 78 in Summerville.
Within minutes, the offices, storage, the very epicenter of Al Bradham’s company, Carpet Care Services, would be reduced to ash and rubble. The business would even lose several company vehicles parked nearby from the intense fire.
Bystanders would all repeat the same two comments: “It happened so fast” and “thank God no one was injured.”
Bradham, who was in a meeting in downtown Charleston when the fire started, said he knew something was terribly wrong when his cell phone started ringing and would not stop.
“It’s a call you definitely don’t want to get,” he said.
By the time he arrived on the scene, the building was completely gutted.
“I remember seeing fire trucks and emergency vehicles everywhere,” Bradham said. “I saw my wife, and remember looking at her and saying, ‘it’s all gone. Everything is gone.’ She looked at me and said, ‘no, the building is gone. We’re still here. The business is still here.’”
Bradham’s landlord had more bad news for him: she did not have any insurance on the building.
Several employees, obviously shell shocked by the unfolding disaster, wondered aloud what they should do the next day.
“I told them we had a lot of work to do, that we would be working tomorrow,” Bradham said.
So they did, he said. They rolled up their sleeves and got to work.
A year later, Bradham says he is tired, but proud of his employees and pleased with the progress they have made.
“It’s been a hard year, a lot of work, but we’re doing well,” he said. “It’s something you don’t want to have happen, but we’ve been able to make a lot of lemonade from a lot of lemons.”
The business has survived, even thrived, although the road has been difficult. However, through the hard work of his employees, the helpful and insightful service from members of the Summerville business community, and above all, the support and response from the community, Carpet Care Services has risen, Phoenix-like, from the ashes and is moving forward.
“My employees never missed a paycheck and all of our customers were taken care of,” he said. “It wasn’t easy – we have customers to care for, job to do, and we couldn’t let this just stop us dead.”
The company continued to handle its clients’ needs during the work week but employees also came in after hours and on weekends to clean up, to re-organize, to do whatever needed to be done to get the business back on its feet. At one point, Bradham said, he hired a temporary administrative person to do nothing but insurance paperwork – that person worked, literally, non-stop for a month.
Bradham credited State Farm Agent Tony Pope with helping him through a lot of the post-disaster process.
“Tony went above and beyond – it was a slow process, but I believe it was very fair,” Bradham said.
Bradham said he was also greatly appreciative of the effort and assistance from First Citizens Bank with helping him secure the loan to buy the property the building was on and rebuild bigger and better.
“When we’re done, this place is going to be something Summerville can really be proud of,” he said.
But one of the most heartwarming aspects was the response from the general community. Friends and neighbors would show up to help clean up and organize, or bring his employees a meal on a weekend, or anything else they could think of to help, he said.
Area businesses would also get involved, sending over employees on slow days to help Bradham’s group with their efforts.
“I remember one gentleman, a man I know from football games, showing up one Saturday and just saying, ‘give me the dirtiest job you’ve got. I want to help.’ And he did.”
In fact, the most important lesson taken from the entire year has, in fact, been that community response, Bradham said.
“A friend of mine put it very well,” he said. “She had lost her husband, and she told me, ‘you know, the difference between you and him is that you got to see who your friends were before you died.”
“That’s the mindset we’ve tried to keep all along,” he continued. “My building died – but I got to see my friends.”
Carpet Cleaning Services rising from ashes of devastating fire
Published Friday, October 21, 2011 8:47 AM
By Jim Tatum
Summerville Journal Scene ®
Oct. 18, 2010 was a perfectly beautiful autumn day in the lowcountry.
But just like that, crystal blue skies seemed to choke on a heavy black curtain of toxic smoke as flames from an electrical fire raged through a commercial building on U.S. 78 in Summerville.
Within minutes, the offices, storage, the very epicenter of Al Bradham’s company, Carpet Care Services, would be reduced to ash and rubble. The business would even lose several company vehicles parked nearby from the intense fire.
Bystanders would all repeat the same two comments: “It happened so fast” and “thank God no one was injured.”
Bradham, who was in a meeting in downtown Charleston when the fire started, said he knew something was terribly wrong when his cell phone started ringing and would not stop.
“It’s a call you definitely don’t want to get,” he said.
By the time he arrived on the scene, the building was completely gutted.
“I remember seeing fire trucks and emergency vehicles everywhere,” Bradham said. “I saw my wife, and remember looking at her and saying, ‘it’s all gone. Everything is gone.’ She looked at me and said, ‘no, the building is gone. We’re still here. The business is still here.’”
Bradham’s landlord had more bad news for him: she did not have any insurance on the building.
Several employees, obviously shell shocked by the unfolding disaster, wondered aloud what they should do the next day.
“I told them we had a lot of work to do, that we would be working tomorrow,” Bradham said.
So they did, he said. They rolled up their sleeves and got to work.
A year later, Bradham says he is tired, but proud of his employees and pleased with the progress they have made.
“It’s been a hard year, a lot of work, but we’re doing well,” he said. “It’s something you don’t want to have happen, but we’ve been able to make a lot of lemonade from a lot of lemons.”
The business has survived, even thrived, although the road has been difficult. However, through the hard work of his employees, the helpful and insightful service from members of the Summerville business community, and above all, the support and response from the community, Carpet Care Services has risen, Phoenix-like, from the ashes and is moving forward.
“My employees never missed a paycheck and all of our customers were taken care of,” he said. “It wasn’t easy – we have customers to care for, job to do, and we couldn’t let this just stop us dead.”
The company continued to handle its clients’ needs during the work week but employees also came in after hours and on weekends to clean up, to re-organize, to do whatever needed to be done to get the business back on its feet. At one point, Bradham said, he hired a temporary administrative person to do nothing but insurance paperwork – that person worked, literally, non-stop for a month.
Bradham credited State Farm Agent Tony Pope with helping him through a lot of the post-disaster process.
“Tony went above and beyond – it was a slow process, but I believe it was very fair,” Bradham said.
Bradham said he was also greatly appreciative of the effort and assistance from First Citizens Bank with helping him secure the loan to buy the property the building was on and rebuild bigger and better.
“When we’re done, this place is going to be something Summerville can really be proud of,” he said.
But one of the most heartwarming aspects was the response from the general community. Friends and neighbors would show up to help clean up and organize, or bring his employees a meal on a weekend, or anything else they could think of to help, he said.
Area businesses would also get involved, sending over employees on slow days to help Bradham’s group with their efforts.
“I remember one gentleman, a man I know from football games, showing up one Saturday and just saying, ‘give me the dirtiest job you’ve got. I want to help.’ And he did.”
In fact, the most important lesson taken from the entire year has, in fact, been that community response, Bradham said.
“A friend of mine put it very well,” he said. “She had lost her husband, and she told me, ‘you know, the difference between you and him is that you got to see who your friends were before you died.”
“That’s the mindset we’ve tried to keep all along,” he continued. “My building died – but I got to see my friends.”
