Here to stay

Taking one peek at his desk, it’s easy to conclude Brian Aker has been at 414 N. Meridian St. in Portland for many years.

Everything has its place. On the wall next to where he sits are notes for the business, and above that are pictures of him with his trophies: fish he’s caught on his many excursions.

The notes, the pictures, they’re just a facade. A way to feel comfortable. A sense of normalcy.

See, Aker has only been at his desk in downtown Portland for just over a month.

“It spoils you,” he said of the temporary location. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s nice.”

It’s also a place from which he never imagined he’d have to run his family-owned business of almost three decades.

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Shortly after employees left for the day on Oct. 2, a fire broke out in the middle area of the building at 208 W. Main St., Portland, home of Aker-Taylor Plumbing & Heating, between the first and second stories.

Aker-Taylor employees had been working between the floors the previous day and were using a pair of work lights, each connected with a separate cord, Aker said. At the end of the job, only one was unplugged. The other caused the fire.

Karen Johnson, owner of the building, a resident of one of the three second-floor apartments and Aker’s mother-in-law, heard smoke alarms wailing in one of the other units. The stairwell filled with smoke. It forced Dave McGill, an Aker-Taylor employee helping Johnson repair a garbage disposal, and Johnson to escape out onto the second-story deck. They were assisted by a handful of the 17 firefighters who responded to the call.

Christopher Johnson, Karen’s grandson, was in bed in another apartment — the third was unoccupied — and was rescued by firefighters via a second-story window.

He smelled smoke as he was lying down recovering from a surgery.

It was the third disaster the building has sustained after getting through a pair of floods.

Those, however, paled in comparison to the early October fire.

“The flood, 2 foot up was your damage there and you went right back into business the next day,” Aker said. “The fire didn’t just hit one room. It hit every room from floor to ceiling with the smoke.

“By far I would rather go through a flood than a fire. The damage was a lot worse than a flood.”

Two of the apartments were a total loss while the other sustained minor smoke damage. The business below was heavily damaged too.

Over the course of 26 years, Aker kept blueprints for every property he worked on. Those were lost in the fire. So too were about six years of the company’s records. About $100,000 worth of inventory was lost as well.

Damage to the building is estimated to be roughly $350,000.

••••••••••

Immediately after the fire, Aker fielded calls offering places to relocate.

Bill Davis, who was vacationing in Florida at the time, was one of them, and offered the former car lot at 414 N. Meridian St., across from NAPA Auto Parts. The large space, and shiny “new” office, allowed the business to house all of its trucks and trailers under one roof.

And, most importantly, it allowed Aker-Taylor to get back in business.

“It was a huge blessing,” Aker said. “Our insurance company, they told us you’ll probably be two to three months before you’re up and operating. The policy we have, it pays for business interruption.”

There was little interruption, though. The fire happened on a Tuesday, and 10 days later order was restored at the new location so business could get underway.

Picking up the pieces from the blaze was a complete team effort. Aker-Taylor employees, as well as about 10 more from Mid-States Construction in Redkey, took two days to haul inventory and equipment between locations.

A counter in the front area was built, and shelving units were also constructed in the back area to hold parts.

During downtime, employees sorted the inventory on the shelving. Aker said he’d sit in bed at night brainstorming how to organize things. The following morning he’d arrive between 5:30 and 6 a.m., set a plan and implement it when the rest of the crew showed up at 7 a.m.

“Our store is set up so the public could go back and get what they needed,” he said. “We wanted to make that same type of layout here.”

Aker’s wife Debbie — she took off two weeks from her job as cafeteria manager at Mount Vernon High School in Fortville — and his soon-to-be daughter-in-law Chelsea held down the front area to help customers.

But more than just customers came by.

“It’s amazing the people that have stopped,” he said. “People I haven’t seen in years.

“The service we provide the public and the sales, we just wanted to get back open for the public. There was some people that were concerned we were not going to open back up but we’re here to stay.”

••••••••••

The prime downtown location has increased foot traffic to the store. It is on the main thoroughfare and easily accessible to those who would just normally pass through the city.

Although having more space, a desk with a view and the higher volume of visitors is an added bonus to the temporary spot, there are no immediate plans to relocate from the site the business has been at for decades.

“We have a few months to think about things,” Aker said. “We’re finishing up the building as though we’re going to move back. That’s kind of the plan right now.”

In the meantime, Mid-States Construction is handling the rehabbing of the building. A stairwell up to the apartments has been widened, and so far the two that were lost completely have been all but gutted.

Karen Johnson has a temporary place to live, and she will move back once the restoration is complete.

Karen’s grandson Chris moved to Berne with his mother.

“We’ll be lucky if we’re back in there in February, maybe March,” Aker said.

No matter how long it takes to get back on Main Street, Aker is thankful for the support he’s received, from the 17 Portland firefighters who responded to the blaze, Jay County Chamber of Commerce and Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman, to name a few.

“We’re fortunate with what we’ve got,” he said. “Good people in the town. It’s huge, and that’s why we want to stay right here where we’re at and do what we do.”