Harrisonburg businesses start recovery from gas leak explosion
Due to the explosion, all buildings apart of the strip mall on Miller Circle were burned down. One of the businesses that was burned down was Naza Salon & Barber Shop. “It was awful [when I heard the news]. I went there right away. People were texting and calling me saying that [the explosion] happened at your shop. I saw the building was [burned down to the floor]. It was on fire and damaged, and I cried,” Salwa Madhi, manager of Naza Salon & Barber Shop, said.
October 17, 2020 at approximately 8:30 a.m., an explosion caused by a natural gas leak occurred on Miller Circle in Harrisonburg VA, leaving five people injured in addition to damage to a strip mall. The explosion was large enough to rattle homes within Harrisonburg as well as within surrounding towns. The buildings that suffered severe damage were part of a strip mall in Miller Circle, including Element Vapors, Hometown Music LLC, Blue Sprocket Sound, Halal Market and Naza Salon & Barber Shop. Businesses near the strip mall were also impacted by the explosion, including Funky’s Skate Center, Dominos Pizza, Wendy’s, Bluestone Bike & Run and El Charro.
“My first concern was about my staff and the freelance engineers who work out of our space. I wanted to make sure that everyone was safe. I knew that we were not booked on that Saturday, but sometimes people come in on off-days to work on personal projects. I was very relieved when I found out everyone from our team was okay. After that, my thinking turned to the space and all the hard work that went into it; it was heartbreaking,” Chris Jackson, current owner and founding partner of Blue Sprocket Sound, said.
Shawn and Salwa Mahdi opened Naza Salon & Barber Shop last September. On the morning of the explosion, Salwa Mahdi received a text from a barber saying he could smell gas. There was a barber and customer in the building when the explosion occured, and they were both sent to the University of Virginia Medical Center.
“It was awful [when I heard the news]. I went there right away. People were texting and calling me saying that [the explosion] happened at your shop. I saw the building was [burned down to the floor]. It was on fire and damaged, and I cried,” Salwa Mahdi said.
Junior Aayana Jones has been very active in the Harrisonburg community by spreading awareness throughout her social media platforms. Jones has created GoFundMes for all the businesses that were hit from the explosion.
“I saw a bunch of people reposting [GoFundMes for] the music store and bike store, but I saw no [GoFundMes] for the hair salon and vape place. I know the vape shop owners personally, so I felt really bad that no one was helping them,” Jones said. “For [Naza Salon & Barber Shop and Element Vapors,] we’ve raised more than the set goal was. I’m very thankful for everybody in the community that was able to donate. It really helps at the end for everyone to build what they had worked so hard for in the beginning.”
Many people in the Harrisonburg community are giving their full support to these businesses and helping by donating.
“The community has been incredibly generous. We’ve received lots of messages of support, and we have received substantial financial gifts through a GoFundMe campaign that was started by some area musicians. We’ve also had substantial offers of help and support come from the wider music community outside of Harrisonburg. I’ve been contacted by people all over the country, and [it has] been very reassuring,” Jackson said.
Although businesses are still recovering from the tragedy, they continue to hope to rebuild in the near future.
“Right now, we’re looking into what will be necessary to rebuild. We hope to be able to reopen, but our business required a very large build-out to open the first time, and the process could take up to a year to complete while we wait for the insurance process to work out, find a new space and design a studio that would work inside that space,” Jackson said. “We absolutely want to continue our business. We love what we do, and we enjoy being a part of Harrisonburg. I don’t know how quickly we’ll be able to reopen, but I look forward to when we can.”
Links to their GoFundMes are here.
Naza Salon & Barber Shop https://www.gofundme.com/f/naza-salon-amp-barber-shop-explosion-relief
Element Vapors
Blue Sprocket Sound & Hometown Music LLC
https://www.gofundme.com/f/blue-sprocket-and-hometown-music-explosion-relief
Halal Market
https://www.gofundme.com/f/264j4a4qqo
