A family’s business was decimated by the Palisades Fire. A majority of their customers also lost their homes, too.
A family lost their entire plumbing business, and the community they served, from the harrowing California wildfires.
Palisades Plumbing’s building, trucks, and a majority of their clients’ homes are gone, but the owners haven’t lost the will to keep going. They are pleading to get the word out to surrounding communities that they are ready to work.
“We just want work,” Palisades Plumbing co-owner Mandy Church told FOX Business. “My guys need to get paid. You know? We need to survive.”
Mandy Church and her husband, Ray Church, fought hard to make a living after moving to the United States in 1985. They battled racism as Ray Church tried to secure a job as a plumber. Finally, he landed a job at Palisades Plumbing, a company they eventually took over in 2007.
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It was a family run business that quickly became their second home. Ghey’re not willing to lose it without a fight.
“I need exposure. I need people to know that we’re here, and we need help,” Mandy Church said.
Palisades Plumbing, a business that was destroyed in the Palisades Fire. (Shavahn Ahmadi)
On Wednesday morning, Ray Church, his daughter Shavahn Ahmadi, and Shavahn’s husband Obai Ahmadi, who also worked there, were the first to witness the devastation left by the Palisades Fire.
“We were very hopeful that the business was still going to be there…as soon as we started walking and saw the trucks completely burnt. We were just devastated,” Shavahn Ahmadi said.
Shavahn Ahmadi explained that it wasn’t just a place where her and her husband worked. It was the place their children grew up.
“We literally made our office like a home. I had cribs in there. I had mats in there for the kids to lay down on highchairs, toys, everything that you could imagine for a child to be in the office.”
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A before and after shot of Palisades Plumbing before it was destroyed in the Palisades Fire. (Shavahn Ahmadi)
Mandy Church and Shavahn Ahmadi aren’t just worried about their livelihood. Their four hardworking employees are top of mind too.
“They have children and families to take care of, and we took care of them. We worked together as a family,” Mandy Church said. “I’ve had them here crying. I feel awful.”
She estimated that they could continue to pay them for about a month before the funds run out.
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Palisades Plumbing, a business that was destroyed in the Palisades Fire. (Shavahn Ahmadi)
Mandy Church is specifically worried about some of her older workers, saying that f they are forced to start over, the new “plumbing company is going to send them everywhere. They’re going to work 12 hours a day. My guys work from 8 to 4.”
Before the fires decimated their building, Mandy Church explained that they typically served customers in the Palisades, although they reached into other communities such as Brentwood, Santa Monica, and Malibu.
They are now looking to expand into Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Tarzana, Encino, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Culver City, Santa Monica, Malibu, Westwood, Brentwood, the entire San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita and Thousand Oaks.
They are also planning to serve the Palisades again when it opens back up.
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2025-01-18 09:00:05
