HAMBURG — Two years ago, Doug Hill lost everything in his small business to a devastating fire.

But now, after receiving significant community support, Carpet Depot has moved from its temporary location to a new, permanent showroom at 7878 E. M-36 in Hamburg.

More:Hamburg Township family flooring business rebounds after fire

On the morning of July 31, 2021, Hill was woken by a call informing him the business, then located at 5300 E. M-36, was on fire. It wasn’t until he arrived that he understood the extent of the damage.

“I immediately called my wife and told her what was happening and I just sat in the car and cried for a little bit,” he said. “Then I just watched it all. There was a lot of smoke and it was still kind of dark when I got there. The sun was just starting to come up.

“Everything else was gone. It was just, it was devastating.”

In the immediate aftermath, Hill managed to get his hands on a computer, which he brought to one of his employees, who began ordering replacement products and calling customers.

A few weeks later, the team was able to temporarily set up shop in two locations: a showroom at 9600 Chilson Commons Circle and a warehouse in the old fire hall building in downtown Pinckney.

Hill was able to purchase displays from other carpet stores that were going out of business, so customers could still see samples in person and have a somewhat normal experience.

Before the fire, the business’ warehouse had been holding about $70,000 worth of product due to be installed. Hill’s biggest concern was how he was going to fulfill his customers’ orders.

“My first (thought) was, ‘What am I going to do about them? Are they going to cancel their jobs and go somewhere else because I can’t get to them in time now?’ There were a lot of questions and uncertainty,” Hill said.

“We didn’t have a single person cancel their order.”

Not only did the business’ customers stick with them through the disaster, but several reached out to place orders earlier than intended to provide additional support.

“It was awesome,” Hill said. “I mean, people found us and it immediately got busy again, and we actually had somewhat of a normal rest of the year.”

Carpet Depot opened in 1994 in a small office space before moving to 5300 E. M-36, where it stayed for more than 25 years. The business often sponsors local events, particularly for schools and churches, and the community paid back that support when Carpet Depot needed it most.

“I guess, being out here that long doing that, obviously a lot of people knew who we were,” Hill said. “They must have remembered that we’ve done that for a while and were happy to support us back.

“(We want to thank) the community and everybody for their support and not forgetting about us.”

— Contact reporter Tess Ware [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @tess_journalist.