Billings gym owner ‘still in shock’ after fire causes $750K in damage to his business, 2 others

The building takes up half of the block between North 16th and 17th streets and First and Second avenues north and appeared to be unoccupied when the fire broke out, and no injuries were reported, according to Billings Fire Battalion Chief Jason Lyon.

Flames and smoke were erupting from the portion of the building that houses COR Automotive, Lyon said later Wednesday morning. The blaze was first reported shortly after 1 a.m.

The fire department estimated the total damage from the fire at $750,000 in a press release sent Wednesday afternoon.

The Grindhouse and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore continued assessing damage throughout the day. Will Grundhauser owns and operates The Grindhouse with his wife Britani. Grundhauser said he learned about the fire Wednesday morning while he was hunting in Sweet Grass County. While on a mountain he turned on his phone and shortly after received roughly 50 messages about what had happened.

“Most of my stuff is ruined — thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars worth of stuff, and I won’t be able to get back into the space to recover it until they call it structurally sound,” Grundhauser said. “We’re a small business. It’s just me and my wife. We’re not in a great position to really have this happen. We just got free and clear to where we owned everything in there, and now everything’s destroyed, just completely ruined. I’m still in shock.”

Grundhauser said he and his wife, who is about 20 weeks pregnant, were planning to sit down late Wednesday afternoon and try to work out a plan going forward. Gym members had been contacting him throughout the day showing him support, and Grundhauser said he was looking into organizing a meeting to update them on the gym’s situation.

A post to the Billings Habitat for Humanity ReStore’s Facebook page Wednesday stated the business will be closed until further notice as damage assessment continues.

“Our heart goes out to the owner and employees of Cor Automotive during this time,” the post stated.

A later post to the same Facebook page described products covered with ash and severe water damage in the ReStore.