The family business was destroyed by the Palisades Fire. The majority of their clients lost their homes as well.
A family lost their entire plumbing business, and the community it served, due to horrific California wildfires.
Palisades Plumbing’s buildings, trucks and most of its customers’ homes are gone, but the owners haven’t lost the desire to carry on. They are appealing to get the word out to the surrounding communities that they are ready to act.
“We just want to work,” Mandy Church, co-owner of Palisades Plumbing, told FOX Business. “My comrades need to get paid. You know? We need to survive.”
Mandy Church and her husband, Ray Church, struggled hard to make a living after they moved to the United States in 1985. They fought racism when Ray Church tried to get a job as a plumber. Finally, he landed a job at Palisades Plumbing, a company they eventually acquired in 2007.
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It was a family run business and quickly became their second home. Guy isn’t willing to lose him without a fight.
“I need exposure. I want people to know we’re here, and we need help,” Mandy Church said.
Palisades Plumbing, the company destroyed in the Palisades fire. (Shavan Ahmadi)
On Wednesday morning, Ray Church, his daughter Shavan Ahmadi and Shavan’s husband Upay Ahmadi, who also worked there, were the first to witness the devastation left by the Palisade Fire.
“We were very optimistic that work would still be possible,” said Shavan Ahmadi. “As soon as we started walking and saw the trucks completely burned. We felt devastated.”
Shavan Ahmadi explained that this was not just a place where she and her husband worked. This was where their children were raised.
“We literally made our office a home. I had cribs in there. I had mats in there so the kids could lay on high chairs, toys, everything you could imagine for a kid to be in the office.”
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Before and after shot of the Palisades Plumbing Works before it was destroyed in the Palisades Fire. (Shavan Ahmadi)
Mandy Church and Shavan Ahmadi aren’t just worried about their livelihoods. Their four hardworking employees are top of mind as well.
“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 made them cry here. I feel bad.”
She estimated they could continue paying their wages for about a month before the money ran out.
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Palisades Plumbing, the company destroyed in the Palisades fire. (Shavan Ahmadi)
Mandy Church is particularly concerned about some of her older workers, saying that if they have to start over, the new “plumbing company” will send them everywhere. They will work 12 hours a day. to 4.”
Before the fires destroyed their building, Mandy Church explained that they usually served clients in Palisades, though they have reached out to other communities like 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 also plan to serve Palisades again when it’s open again.