A Letter to the Editor: Community Helps Law Firm Recover After Fire

We are a law firm that owns and previous to the fire, occupied the building to the north of in Wyandotte. We have been operating Downriver for more than 24 years and specifically at 2915 Biddle for 10 years.

When we learned about , we watched in horror, not knowing what to expect. We waited and braced for the worse. Our hearts went out to our business neighbors, LTB's, and we were greatly relieved to discover that although their building was a total loss, no one was injured.

After the smoke cleared, we were amazed and grateful that our building was still standing. But, we were faced with the news that because of heavy smoke damage and flooding, our building was uninhabitable. Suddenly, we were now challenged with obstacles that could be considered a small business nightmare. We had (phones, Internet, people, furniture, supplies) all while pressing forward with "business as usual."

It is said that you "never know who your friends are until you're in trouble." We discovered that we have many friends. Downriver is a community with a very close bond that was never more prevalent to us as it is now following this disaster. We saw our business friends, clients and vendors come forth and offer the help we needed to sustain and get our operation back up and running. We are grateful for our clients, who preserve with us through patience and understanding as we get back on our feet.

We are in awe of this amazing community we call Downriver. Pentiuk, Couvreur and Kobiljak is blessed to have the awesome privilege of doing business here. No matter the challenges we presently face or are destined to face in the future, we are here to stay.

Randall A. Pentiuk, Wyandotte