October 2004 | Back Woods
Phoenix Rising
It never occurred to leaders at the burned-down Environmental Home Center not to rebuild and reinvent the company
by Heather Nordell
Each of the 21 employees at Seattle’s Environmental Home Center heard the news that August morning. Some were getting ready for work listening to the news. Others got a call from a friend or coworker to learn that their business was burning down.
Matthew Freeman-Gleason, founder and chief knowledge officer, was in Buffalo on vacation when he heard.
“It was surreal,” he recalls. “We had so much good stuff going on with the business I just couldn’t believe it. But there was no moment I thought we wouldn’t get through this. I immediately began thinking what we needed to do.”
Customers, suppliers, partners, friends and supporters alike felt Freeman-Gleason’s sense of shock and loss when a fire took the main warehouse, showroom and offices of Environmental Home Center on Aug. 11. The fire was ignited accidentally from self-combustible materials.
Since 1992, Environmental Home Center has provided environmentally sound building materials, plus informational resources to home and property owners, contractors, builders, architects and other building professionals. EHS has always been active in community service. It offered much more to its community than it ever realized.
Eli Forman, director of showroom sales, was getting ready for work when he noticed three messages on his answering machine from a workmate.
“I was very concerned,” he says. “There are several employees who work early and late hours. God forbid anyone was in the building.”
Forman attempted to call those odd-hours coworkers, but didn’t know until reaching the site that everyone was OK.
“The scene looked war-ravaged,” Forman says. “When I saw my coworkers, several of us burst into tears. When I saw the CEO, Tim Taylor, and his family, I approached him and told him that our dream was not over. This business was founded with such a strong vision of the heart.”
Vance Calvez, a customer service representative, took a ferry from Bainbridge and rode his bike to work. He didn’t know about the fire until he arrived.
“I wondered what was going to happen now,” he says. “We have so much pride in this line of work. I hoped we would be able to continue to provide this service.”
Zach Bockman, a residential sales and wood specialist, went straight to the site upon hearing the news. “I wanted to see how big the fire really was. When I saw, I wondered what would happen to the business and what would happen to our jobs. I really hoped we had insurance.”
Fortunately, they did have insurance and the business didn’t miss a beat. In fact, Tim Taylor recalls that he saw Patti Southard, professional sales and business development manager, finalizing an order from her cell phone while leaning on a fire truck the morning of the fire.
A welcome outpouring of support from their community helped fuel EHC’s next steps. Laird Norton Company (where Taylor was formerly CEO) and Matthew G. Norton Company offered temporary office space.
The day of the fire, Taylor announced that no one would lose his or her job. He says he believed in the strength of the team. He didn’t realize the extent of support that would come from the community. Countless generous offers poured in, from public relations assistance to building construction and interior design to catering to donations of time and money.
Bockman says there has been overwhelming response to the EHC call center from customers expressing their concern and willingness to help.
“With all that support, we knew we would have to keep going,” says Lisa DiMartino, marketing vice president.
Patti Southard adds: “Our business was treated like a $100 million company, and we began to realize that our value to the community is much more than the net worth figure on our balance sheet. My challenge now is how to help EHC grow the business to that level.”
A “best practice” note to all business owners: EHC had backed up all of its data in another building not affected by the fire.
Since the fire, the company has taken other strategic steps. Taylor immediately contacted business associates to connect to other companies that have been through a fire. Taylor found their stories, insights and advice valuable. They hired a public adjuster to help them with the insurance process. The EHC staff worked with an industrial psychologist, a free service from Washington Employers.
Environmental Home Center expects to have their new temporary site and reopen doors later this fall. Taylor knew things would be OK during an exchange with a firefighter while the fire was still smoldering,
“You won’t believe how fast you will be back up and running,” said the firefighter. “I bought cork and bamboo from you. I love what you do!”
Looking ahead, Lisa DiMartino says, “We can pick what worked for us before and then recreate it better.”
“It’s like we are shedding our skin,” says Freeman-Gleason. “We can see the silver lining through the smoke.”
Heather Nordell is a contributing writer for Evergreen Monthly.
Lend a hand
All 5,000 copies of The Green Pages stored in Environmental Home Center’s warehouse were destroyed during the August fire at the company. The Green Pages is an extensive green building, materials and services resource directory published annually by the nonprofit organization The Northwest EcoBuilding Guild. EHC asks for any financial contributions to be made to the Guild so they can reprint copies of The Green Pages. Checks may be made payable to NW EcoBuilding Guild, Attention: EHC fire/Green Pages, P.O. Box 58530, Seattle, WA 98138. Donations can be made by credit card; contact the Guild for details.
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