LIFE AFTER $500K FIRE
Print shop back in business
It’s been just over three weeks since Hogan’s Printing was devastated by a fire that caused an estimated half-million dollars in damage — and business is humming along nicely.
“When you think you’re down and you can’t do it anymore, the community just rises and picks you up,” owner Dan Hogan said on Thursday at his print shop’s temporary location at 1636 Tecumseh Rd. East. “We are truly blessed.” Hogan said the shop’s new space was donated by Jeff Casey, publisher of snapd Windsor, in a great act of generosity.
Hogan said Casey contacted him about the space within 24 hours after the fire happened on Oct. 16. In short order, Hogan and his staff were able to set up their equipment and continue production. “Now we’re rocking and rolling,” Hogan said. “We printed our first T-shirts here on Monday.”
It wouldn’t have been possible without other local people and businesses generously donating services, such as Syles Mechanical and Brookdale Construction. “There are a lot of great people in the community,” Hogan said gratefully.
The cause of the blaze that struck the longtime home of Hogan’s Printing on Drouillard Road remains undetermined. Fire officials said the incident resulted in an estimated $500,000 damage. Hogan said the “main hub” of the business, where they did their screen-printing, was destroyed. Although the print shop has been located at 1409 Drouillard Rd. since 1980, Hogan said the building itself is much older. “I can’t tell you what happened,” Hogan said. “The experts were there for a long time, and they couldn’t tell us.
“The bottom line, to me, is that we lost stuff — we didn’t lose life,” he continued. “The best thing about it was there were no casualties.” Hogan’s sister and another family were living in a connected residential structure at the time of the fire, but all were safely evacuated. “It was a bit of a setback. But we’re pretty resilient, and we’re back up and running,” Hogan said. Asked if Hogan’s Printing will eventually return to Drouillard Road, Hogan said he has no doubt. “Drouillard Road is our home. Ford City has come a long way. We’re part of the neighbourhood. It’s family. We’ll be back.”
The Hogan family has long been involved in local charitable fundraising. The annual Joe Hogan Memorial Charity Golf Day has benefited the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation and the Windsor Spitfires Foundation, and the Sherron Hogan Scholarship helps high school students whose lives have been affected by cancer.