Darci Menard is overwhelmed.
Overwhelmed by the bouquets of flowers, balloons, cards, bottles of wine and countless well-wishes she and her fellow stylists have received over the past week since her business re-opened following a major fire in downtown Port Coquitlam last year.
Overwhelmed by the city, which came to her rescue and pumped out the thousands of gallons of water from DM & Co. Hair Salon in the early-morning hours on Thanksgiving Day when the bakery next door went up in flames.
Overwhelmed by the show of support from city council, which offered words of encouragement and a management plan to get her newly opened shop up and running again.
And overwhelmed by the business community that banded together following the second major fire in a year for the downtown core.
"I'm stunned, just stunned," Menard said, her eyes welling up. "I want to thank everyone for helping me out. I feel blessed."
The sudden loss of her business couldn't have come at a worse time.
For years, Menard had been searching for a "forever home" to accommodate her and four friends, said fellow stylist Sue McCartney. They had worked on and off in various locations around the Tri-Cities and were eager to come together to work under the same roof.
Last August, Menard was on her way to take a photo of her niece on her first day on the job at Me 'n Eds pizza parlour when she noticed a "For Lease" sign in the basement window of the McAllister Avenue building.
She contacted the landlord and, by September, Menard and her tradespeople were renovating the 1,000 sq. ft. space.
The grand opening was Oct. 5.
But four days later, on Thanksgiving Day, the building's owner alerted her as he was on his way through customs for a vacation.
There was a fire close to his building, he said: Do. Not. Panic.
But when Menard's niece arrived on scene for work that morning, she told her aunt about the flooding in her salon, which by then had risen to four feet high.
Menard rushed over to see the damage herself. She couldn't believe her eyes. Fire fighters tried to stop her from getting closer. "That's my business," she told them as they backed down.
Menard talked to the fire captain and city crews. And when the doors finally opened, at around 1 p.m., she saw her lifelong dream dashed: the floors, walls and furniture — "basically, anything that was wood" — were ruined.
McCartney played a video clip from the day of the disaster, when Menard spoke to a reporter about her loss: They will get through it, she said. They will be stronger. "It was a bad day," Menard said. "I don't know how I got through it."
Menard also scanned through her phone to show The Tri-City News the numerous correspondence she received immediately after the blaze.
Susanna Walden, executive director of the Downtown PoCo Business Improvement Association, pitched in as did Tara Stroup, PoCo's emergency program officer, and Catherine Polonio from Coquitlam Florist.
Acting mayor Laura Dupont also rallied. "I felt for her after all the work she put in," she said of Menard.
Former employers of Menard's stylists also helped out by offering their rental chairs back until DM & Co. Hair Studio was back on its feet. Menard, too, had to return to her last gig at Shaughnessy Mall.
On Nov. 23, Menard's insurance company allowed her to start renovations. The floors took the longest, she said; however, the opening was delayed as tradespeople had to clear out newly found asbestos.
Finally, last Saturday, it was time for the grand re-opening.
"I didn't think anybody was going to be here," Menard said, deadpan, "but they came all day. It was unbelievable. They were happy that it finally happened for us."
She added, "We feel very lucky to be in this community. I want to be on BIA board now. I want to be a good neighbour. I want to walk down the streets every day and thank everyone. Port Coquitlam is truly a hometown."
