CARROLLTON, Va. (WAVY) — A Smithfield industrial fire in January left more than a dozen small businesses in ashes, including a boat repair shop named Stuarts Marine.
10 On Your Side visited the business days after the fire. One of the owners, David Stuart, showed us the unbelievable damage inside and out. One of the larger boats they were working on was unrecognizable, appearing as if it melted into the ground.
Much of the metal in Stuart’s shop turned to liquid, and all of their expensive tools were coated in a thick rust. Stuart and his father told us the shop was uninsurable, since the warehouse had too many industrial businesses close together, making it a fire hazard.
This came at a bad time for the family, since Stuart’s father, David Stuart Sr., was recently diagnosed with cancer.
Despite all this, they were able to open in a new location. Thanks to a GoFundMe page and help from the community, they were able to lease a new place in Carrollton, not far from their old location. They were also able to buy a massive set of new tools.
Their new shop has an indoor bay, and plenty of space out back to store soon-to-be-fixed boats.
“All these are in for repair right now, that big one and these two,” Stuart said. “This time of year, we could have up to 20 boats up in here at one time.”
Last time we spoke with them, we learned David Stuart Sr. is battling cancer. His son is telling us, while driving to a treatment this year, his dad got in a car crash. Stuart Sr. is recovering at home. Now, he needs back surgery, on top of his cancer treatments.
“So he’s been taking it easy lately,” Stuart explained.
The silver lining in this bad year is their new shop. The family is back in business despite the odds. A huge perk to the new digs — it is insurable.
“Try what you can and do whatever you can to get it, because you never know when you’re going to need it.”
Stuart is still trying to bring back a lot of their old tools through a chemical bathing process, since many of them are specialized and cannot be bought anymore. He said they will need to make some of these custom tools throughout the year.
Stuart even kept a couple of the boat engines that were burnt to a crisp in the fire. They serve as both a conversation starter — and a stark reminder of what they came back from.
“It’s been a little rough,” Stuart said, “It’s been quite a challenge to come back from what we came from. But we got through.”
Investigators have since said the fire was caused by an accident.
