Sal Mastropolo, the owner of Authentic Antique Lumber on Route 17A in Goshen – got his first look Wednesday morning at the damage in the business's sanding and epoxy building.
Firefighters said a fire started in the corner of the structure Tuesday evening, ruining several large custom furniture pieces that were either complete or being worked on.
"This was a $15,000 table," Mastropolo said, kicking a large, mostly charred board.
Mastropolo's insurance is not paying to replace the building, he said, nor the demolition, as he was still searching for a policy to cover the new, second building.
He said he will be able to work that out in the long term.
In the short term, though, Mastropolo has 18 employees who have several projects to start over.
He started an online fundraiser Wednesday morning after realizing he may not be able to make payroll in the coming weeks due to the sudden shortfall of $100,000.
"We have orders to fill and half of our workspace has been destroyed," Mastropolo wrote in a social media post sharing the fundraiser link. "Any support, whether it’s a donation or just sharing the link, would really mean the world to me and all of us."
"Right now, the team's important," he said Wednesday as he walked through the damage. "Keeping the team on payroll, and getting as much stuff out as I can to make sure I don't incur even more situations with the customers."
Mastropolo and his staff are trying to find the positives in their situation.
For one, the exterior of van full of orders bound for Manhattan was torched and its outer fixtures melted, but the orders survived.
Office manager Toni Helton spent much of the day going through all the damaged orders and making difficult phone calls.
"Just called two customers to let them know what happened," she said.
The business is still accepting new orders.
Mastropolo said he is working extra hard to reassure customers and come up with payroll money quickly.
"We're just going to go day by day," he said with a laugh.
Mastropolo inherited the business from his late father, Sal Mastropolo Jr., who started the business.
Mastropolo has since expanded it to offer more products and services.
