‘No one deserves this': Portsmouth business owner trying to bounce back after fire destroys newly-opened shop
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A Portsmouth business owner is trying to bounce back after an early morning fire Monday.
According to Portsmouth Fire, at 5:49 a.m. Monday, crews from Portsmouth Fire Rescue & Emergency Services, Navy Regional Mid-Atlantic Fire Rescue and Chesapeake Fire Department responded to a report of a commercial structure fire in the 3900 block of George Washington Highway at Dan the Piercing Man Tattoo and Body Piercing, a new business that owner Daniel Steele had recently opened.
Crews were able to get to contain the fire and announced it under control at around 6:13 a.m.
Steele said the situation was heartbreaking.
'No one deserves this,' he said. 'I can't believe it happened to me. I'm still in a little bit of shock.'
Steele has been in the industry for 24 years and said it's been his dream to own his own business, and it had finally come true.
'It was beautiful. This was the nicest tattoo shop I've ever worked at, gorgeous, painted, brand new everything,' Steele said.
But just one week after opening, he got a call from Portsmouth Fire Marshal Office.
'[They told] me that it was a Molotov cocktail [that was thrown] through my window,' Steele said, 'and the first words out of my mouth were, 'Are you joking? I can't believe it.''
Portsmouth Fire has not confirmed the cause of the fire to 10 On Your Side. A spokesperson for the department said it is still under investigation by the Portsmouth Fire Marshal Office.
But Steele said he already knows what caused it.
'I was the victim of arson,' he said. 'Someone threw a firebomb through the window and torched the place [and caused] thousands of dollars in damage.'
He said he now has to replace everything inside the shop. But he has started a GoFundMe to offset the cost, and has already raised more than $1,000.
'All of the donations will go to help me rebuild my dream,' Steele said. 'I want to say thank you to all who have donated. It means a lot to me.'
He said since Monday, they've finished demolition and now they're working on cleaning and rebuilding.
'I'm going to reopen,' Steele said. 'I will be here every day until this place is brand new again. I am here because it means that much to me.'
He hopes to reopen his shop within the next couple of months.
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