On July 28, the small Fremont art gallery and gift shop ArtFx caught fire. The building survived mostly, but flames, heat and smoke destroyed the entire stock of art and crafts. In a moment, business owners Doug Stacey and Don Stayner lost everything.
Property manager DeeDee Footer is an admitted worrier. "Some people are worst-case scenario people - like me."
At one time, she volunteered with the American Red Cross and taught CPR/First Aid. "You'd be surprised at the number of people who laugh at me when I take a first-aid kit along," she said. Camping, hiking and in her car, DeeDee likes to be prepared.
DISASTER PLANS
In the three Fremont buildings she oversees, DeeDee makes sure her tenants - both residential and commercial - have the fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems and smoke detectors required.
According to the Red Cross website (www.redcross.org), business owners must do more.
"No business should risk operating without a disaster plan," according to the website.
It also states that as many as 40 percent of small businesses (a 2006 Small Business Administration report stated 25 percent) do not reopen after a major disaster.
With a business district that consists almost entirely of small businesses, a major catastrophe in Fremont could easily wipe out half our core commercial district.
"If this neighborhood gets destroyed, nobody is going to be buying records," according to Nabil Ayers, co-owner of Sonic Boom and one of DeeDee's tenants.
Nabil was in his store, an old building, during the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, and he's noticed "the brick wall is shaped differently since the earthquake."
When asked about disaster preparation, he admitted, "It's something I don't think about. There are so many other things to think about."
Sonic Boom has four stores, with two in other neighborhoods of Seattle. Every phone number - employees', owners' and the other stores' - are posted in every store, as the Red Cross suggests.
Also, their insurance is very comprehensive, including some "disaster stuff," as Nabil described it. Ultimately, he joked, they have enough Snickers bars and Vitamin Water on hand to last at least a month.
READY OR NOT
Henry Burton, owner of Fremont Place Book Co., worries about how to get customers in his store, rather than preparing for disaster - although, "Harry [Potter] was very good to us this year."
"It's so unplannable," Henry said, and in an emergency, "I guess we're closed for business."
He has a first-aid kit, and his landlord has insurance on the building, but disaster just isn't his first priority. "My main concern is theft, shoplifting," he admitted. "We can still go back to the old ways," with pad and pen to write sales.
"Oh, I think about it," Lisa Perry, owner of Ophelia's Books, told me.
When she and her husband watch disaster movies, they talk about what they would do, but as to writing a disaster plan, "I haven't really thought about it. I don't think about the business surviving," she explained, used books not being "a luxury item." If she loses her inventory, she'll go find more.
The newest arrival in Fremont sounds best prepared. Kathy Turner opened Custom Smoothie & Sports Nutrition four months ago with her twin sister. Kathy asserted that the siblings both have CPR/first aid experience and have done search-and-rescue work.
Located in a signature, old, funky Fremont building, the sisters spent a week and a half considering every eventuality when purchasing insurance. "We think anything and everything will go wrong," Kathy admitted.
She believes their background working in corporate environments has given them an eye to preparation: "They train you to be ready."
WHAT DO WE NEED?
DeeDee manages the new Space Building and its 65 small business tenants, and she knows many people open new businesses "on a wing and a prayer."
As a volunteer board nember with the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, she hopes to help her tenants and other small businesses get prepared.
DeeDee spoke with larger employers here, like Adobe and PCC Natural Markets, and found they have plans and train employees, but "a lot of the smaller businesses don't have time." Nabil expressed interest in disaster kits or first-aid training if the Fremont chamber suggests them. Henry also said he might participate, although "I should do CPR [training], but when?"
Part of the problem might be the lack of experience with disasters here. "With the exception of some shoveling and salting," DeeDee explained, the storms of December 2006 mostly missed Fremont.
The big question remains: What do we need? "We don't know," DeeDee admitted.
Rarely does the Fremont community depend on outside sources or guidance for solutions, but the Red Cross has made its website an invaluable resource on this subject.
Also, the city provides information at www.seattle.gov/emergency.
Whatever gives business owners the motivation to prepare for the unthinkable, it's to be hoped Fremont could be one community that beats the statistics.
READY TO SLAM?
After the last View column (July 25) went to press, Seattle Slam Master Daemond Arrindell announced the Seattle Poetry Slam, currently held Tuesdays at Tost in Fremont, will return to its original night, Wednesdays, starting in September.
For more information on what night to get your Slam on, check the website at www.poetryfestival.org.
Kirby Lindsay invites your comments on all things Fremont at fremont@oz.net.
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