A fire broke out at White’s Nursery in Chesapeake, Va., on Tuesday, May 24th at 7:30 p.m. causing an estimated $600,000 in damages. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Head Grower at the Nursery, Bob Bailey, was the first to discover the fire. “I heard the burglar alarm set off by glass breaking in the fire,” said Bailey, who responded by calling the Chesapeake emergency dispatch.
“Our hard goods area, offices, registers, telephone, electrical and HVAC systems were completely destroyed,” said Tal White, owner of the facility. “It will take at least seven months to rebuild.”
Most of White’s retail sales have been annuals, potted plants and woody ornamentals because of the devastation caused in the hard goods area. Despite the loss, White says that they have been able to maintain their staff because of strong retail spring sales and fire clean-up efforts.
White says that the fire has not affected the Nursery’s ability to serve as a host location for the Eastern Performance Trials this September. “Our participation in the trials is completely unaffected by the fire,” White said, explaining that neither of the two display areas were damaged.
Ernest Wertheim of Wertheim, Van Der Ploeg, & Klemeyer in San Francisco, Calif., will work with White to re-create the damaged areas to meet the needs of today’s garden center customer.
Red Bank, N.J.-based X.S. Smith will supply the professional engineering services and greenhouse structural components for re-building.
Head Grower at the Nursery, Bob Bailey, was the first to discover the fire. “I heard the burglar alarm set off by glass breaking in the fire,” said Bailey, who responded by calling the Chesapeake emergency dispatch.
| FIRE SAFETY FACTS & FIGURES |
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“Our hard goods area, offices, registers, telephone, electrical and HVAC systems were completely destroyed,” said Tal White, owner of the facility. “It will take at least seven months to rebuild.”
Most of White’s retail sales have been annuals, potted plants and woody ornamentals because of the devastation caused in the hard goods area. Despite the loss, White says that they have been able to maintain their staff because of strong retail spring sales and fire clean-up efforts.
White says that the fire has not affected the Nursery’s ability to serve as a host location for the Eastern Performance Trials this September. “Our participation in the trials is completely unaffected by the fire,” White said, explaining that neither of the two display areas were damaged.
Ernest Wertheim of Wertheim, Van Der Ploeg, & Klemeyer in San Francisco, Calif., will work with White to re-create the damaged areas to meet the needs of today’s garden center customer.
Red Bank, N.J.-based X.S. Smith will supply the professional engineering services and greenhouse structural components for re-building.
