Aiken tire shop reopens after fire forced it to shut down
AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Eight months ago, a fire at an Aiken tire shop caused it to close down.
McKinney Tire Service recently opened back up after a generator fire caused by Hurricane Helene made the shop close for eight months.
“On October 2, we had been closed because the power had been out in Aiken because of that hurricane. We brought the generator over here. I said, ‘Let’s open up the tire shop.’ I had it hooked up to a battery. They were pouring gasoline in the generator, and then a spark from the battery made it blow up and burn down,” said Owner Jim McKinney.
The fire consumed almost everything.
“The entire thing, I mean, it was just ashes,” said McKinney.
The tire shop had been serving the Aiken community for over 20 years, and they weren’t gonna let the fire stop them from continuing that service.
“If somebody comes by and wants the air in their tire, we don’t charge anything. There’s one place that charges $20 to put air in your tires. And a lot of times, people will come by [and say] ‘My car is running hot.’ We’ll go out there and we’ll just do little things for them, and the biggest thing is if somebody needs one tire, we won’t try and sell them more than one tire, and we’ve gotten that trust. And we’re just honest and we’re friendly and helpful,” said McKinney.
McKinney had retired just a few months before the fire, leaving his sons to take over the businesses.
After the fire, he knew he couldn’t stay away, so he and his sons got to work.
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“Took us seven months to get it rebuilt. And right now it’s better than ever. We have a brand new building, brand new equipment. It’s just actually the fire is almost a blessing. Now I can say that now, but it wasn’t a blessing at the time when I watched it burn. But, anyway, we’re back,” said McKinney.
When they were rebuilding, McKinney said people would come by and ask when they were gonna reopen.
“It’s just been such a stress and everything getting this place, and everything done. And, we’re finally open, and it’s just great,” said McKinney.
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McKinney says he’s so thankful for the city of Aiken Fire Department for all of their help, and he says he’s also thankful for the community.
“We’re just such a part of the community, we love it here,” said McKinney.
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