Printable VersionThe owners of a local business devastated by a fire that caused $650,000 damage Monday have plans to rebuild within 30 days and carry on with life as they know it.
 Island Boat Service owners Mike and Joyce Riley and employee Tavo Lopez, left, stand in the wreckage of their business that was devastated by a fire Monday. The owners said they plan to rebuild. Jayne Hanson/News-Herald Photo. |
“We are going to clear the slab, salvage as much as we possibly can, build a one-stall shop and continue doing business,” Mike Riley said. “We are down right now, but we are going to build it back.”
Lake Havasu City Fire Marshal Chip Shilosky said further investigations have determined the fire did start in the office area of the business and the cause is possibly electrical in nature.
The extent of the fire damage that occurred is keeping investigators from identifying electrical parts because they are melted together from extreme heat.
The mishap is the second to occur at the business since it was established in 1984.
At 10:15 a.m. Aug. 15, 2001, a welding accident severely burned Mike Riley. He said the accident caused burns on 57 percent of his body. The incident has left him without feeling in his legs.
However, the accident did not stop him from returning to his shop.
“It’s the only thing I have, I love it,” Riley said of his welding and repair business.
The 66-year-old business owner has been overseeing shop operations in the years following and turned the welding over to Tavo Lopez, a shop employee of six years.
“(The Rileys) pay my bills. They have sent my kids to college and now I don’t know what I am going to do,” Lopez said. “I guess we have to go forward, not back.”
The business was a total loss, and customers’ houseboats, pontoon boats and fabricated docks were damaged.
The two fifth-wheel occupants, Jack and Julie Hutchins, suffered injuries from Monday’s fire and were treated and released from a Phoenix burn center, said Jack Hutchins. They are recovering. He added that he suffered burns on both feet and wife Julie suffered a burn on her arm as well as smoke inhalation.
Island Boat Service is located at 1580 Dover Ave. in Havasu.
You may contact the reporter at jhanson@havasunews.com.
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