Owners vow to rebuild cycle shop

Lightning strikes the family business. Officials estimate the damage at $2-million.

By ROSALIND HELDERMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 27, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Nestled against the charred hull of Barney's Motorcycle Sales showroom, a duck sits blinking slowly. Workers say it has been sitting in the same place for about two weeks.

The duck was there Monday as usual, despite a raging fire that burned at the store for hours Sunday night. "It's a symbol of something," said owner Bevelry Hempstead-Newton. "Obstinateness or bullheadedness. Maybe persistence -- I guess that's what it shows."

Mrs. Hampstead-Newton and her family know a little something about persistence. The motorcycle dealership has been in business for 57 years, owned by the same family for three generations.

Now, the company plans to rebuild the showroom, at 10411 Gandy Blvd. N, as soon as possible.

"There's a lot of life memories in there," Mrs. Hampstead-Newton said, gazing out over broken glass and melted motorcycles. "It's been tough going for this family all along. There's no way we can stop now. It's up to this generation to keep this business going."

Between the structure itself and the dozens of new motorcycles and watercraft contained within, the family estimates they lost about $2-million in the blaze.

Firefighters have concluded that the building was struck by lightning about 7 p.m. Sunday. The bolt traveled through the building's electrical lines, overloading the system and igniting the building.

The business was closed Sunday and no one was in the building when the fire started.

Lt. Chris Bengivengo of St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue said the fire might have been burning for more than 20 minutes before flames were reported to the authorities.

"A lightning strike is a random thing, and it happened to hit here. Murphy's law just rolled through," Bengivengo said.

More than 50 firefighters battled the blaze, which kept crews on the scene all night. One firefighter was taken to the hospital suffering from heat exhaustion. He was treated and released.

Although it will take time to rebuild the showroom, the workers and owners of Barney's Motorcycle are concentrating on reopening the rest of the complex as soon as possible. The boat and motorcycle servicing area was open for business Monday, and workers hoped to erect a tent to sell undamaged merchandise today.

"It won't be perfect, but we'll be up and running," Mrs. Hampstead-Newton said.

"We had a good store before the fire," said receptionist Linda Ash. "We'll have a sensational store after the fire."

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