An Armstrong guitar maker won’t let a fire destroy his dreams.
Flames roared through Kronbauer Guitars’ shop on Patterson Avenue at about 8:20 p.m. Thursday.
“It means I have to start from the bottom up again,” said Trevor Kronbauer, who has been making guitars since 2001.
“I will start again. It’s what I do.”
The shop is about 600-square-feet in size.
“There was a lot of smoke that developed into flame,” said Alastair Crick, Armstrong-Spallumcheen deputy fire chief.
The structure is intact, but the interior sustained extensive damage.
Among the items inside were 10 guitars in various stages of completion.
“There was also a lot of beautiful wood that may be salvageable,” said Kronbauer.
“I also hope I can salvage the equipment but I don’t know that yet. The big thing is no one got hurt so all of that stuff can be replaced.”
Kronbauer did not have insurance.
“It’s a setback but I can do this,” he said, adding that he is looking for shop space in Vernon or Armstrong so he can continue to develop guitars.
“They’re a tool for joy and I get to build them every day.”
Firefighters were presented with some challenges during the blaze.
“Access was a little tight because there is another building on one side and a residence on the south side.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.