Hello, my name is Caitlin! Last month, my father’s gas station/mart business suffered a total loss from an unexpected fire that burned down the entire building along with everything inside including inventory and recent investments such as new computer systems, tank systems, cooling systems, etc. With no other source of income, it has become extremely difficult to survive, especially with the addition of my university expenses.

 

 

Unfortunately, this is not the first fire to occur at our business. In 2020 during the pandemic when we were all experiencing difficulty and hardship through the unexpected outbreak, a fire started by a recreational vehicle engulfed the gas pump stations, disabling all income from gas purchases for 6 months (news link: https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/mobile-home-fire-starts-at-olympia-gas-station,300). From then, my parents were able to take an optimistic attitude, working towards recovering the infrastructure and making long-term investments into equipment and systems upgrades. We have just barely been able to rebound from the first fire and are now entangled in a second hazard.

 

 

We have not received enough insurance coverage and the police have not found any clue to the cause of the fire. After coming to terms with the fact that we cannot come up with recovery costs on our own, I have decided to publish a GoFundMe in hopes of helping my hardworking immigrant parents who do not deserve to see a 13-year-old business completely erased without an explanation or reason.

 

Donations will be going towards the recovery of and replacing all destroyed equipment we have been working up to purchase before the fire. Thank you so much for reading our story. Any donations, shares, and prayers are greatly appreciated and we hope to see you again as a running business in the near future!

 

(news link: https://komonews.com/news/local/commercial-fire-in-olympia-wipes-out-contents-of-texaco-food-mart)