Kevin L. Zadina

    One week after a fire destroyed a dream come true Brian and Cindy Fehlhafer are very thankful.
     The Fehlhafers watched Dec. 30 as their Midwest Automotive repair shop and the NAPA auto parts store burned to the ground in an early morning fire.
     BrianFehlhafer said there wasn't any time to waste after the fire and less than a week later NAPA was selling parts and cars were being worked on.
     "We have a real positive attitude around here. This (business) wasn't just Cindy's and my dream, but it was also our employees," Brian Fehlhafer said as they continued to get their business back up and running.
     Midwest Auto and NAPA reopened on Jan. 4 in the old Ford dealership building at 2631 Progressive Road, next to Casey's General Store.
     Brian Fehlhafer decided Monday morning that the old Ford building would work as a temporary location while the old site is cleaned up and rebuilt.
     "We are very fortunate that everything worked out. We came down here Monday morning cleaned the place out and every thing was done," Fehlhafer said.
     He said on New Year's Day they headed to Omaha for shelving for the NAPA store and when they arrived back at the current store around 3 p.m. there were about 25 people, mainly volunteers, ready to unload and assemble shelves. In four hours everything was in place.
     "We want to give a heartfelt thanks to our employees, our customers and everyone else who has supported us through this. It is overwhelming and we couldn't have got this far without all the help," Fehlhafer said. " We are just thankful to live in this community and how the community has rallied behind us."
     The Fehlhafers also had to attend to family issues during the past week. Fehlhafer's oldest son Matthew, who is a varsity wrestler at Seward High School, had knee surgery on Wed. Jan. 2.
     Brian Fehlhafer said he was able get tools from NAPA Jan. 1 in Omaha, which allowed his mechanics to go to work on some simple repairs.
     On Friday Jan. 4, Midwest Auto, which has been in business since 1995, was ready to give customers oil changes and some major work on vehicles had begun. The business moved to the site of the fire in July 2005.
     "We knew we couldn't dwell on the problem, we had to patch together a solution and get things fixed for now until we rebuild," Brian Fehlhafer said.
     He doesn't have a time table for rebuilding at this time as fire investigators and insurance adjusters are combing through the charred remains of the 26,400 square foot building.
     Brian said the NAPA store will be at 90 to 100% operational by Friday. The auto repair end of the business will be handling almost all of the repairs they previously have by Friday.
     Brian Fehlhafer preaches customers service and it is business as usual for Midwest Auto as they helped a stranded motorist Saturday afternoon (Jan. 5) on the interstate. The parts store had to get an alternator out of Lincoln and they had the truck and driver on its way.
     "We do what we can. The alternator was brought out, we put it in and he was real happy to be going to Colorado," Brian Fehlhafer said.
     Cindy Fehlhafer said getting back in business would not have been possible without the help of family and friends and their employees. She also wanted to thank the firefighters who risked their lives fighting the blaze.
     Seward Volunteer Fire Department first responded to fire at Midwest Auto at 2:03 a.m. which was an apparent chimney fire. The scene was cleared by Deputy State Fire Marshal investigator Mark Sloup of David City, but another call came in a 6:02 a.m.
     At this time the building was totally engulfed and beyond saving.
     The causes of the two fires have not been determined and still under investigation by the Nebraska State Fire Marshal's office.
     The SVFD was given assistance by the Garland and Goehner Volunteer Fire Departments.
     The SVFD was on the scene overnight on Dec. 30 and was still extingishing flare ups on Dec. 31.