First look: Island Tire and Auto soaked, but open for business

After having 3,000 gallons of water pumped out of his oil pit, Barry Edwards was still soaked up to his knees on Wednesday morning.

Edwards, owner of Island Tire and Auto's north end shop, had about 2 feet of water and oil still in his 12-foot pit, soaking his machinery and giving him a massive headache.

A rug he had laid down on the grates of his shop was so soaked through that some pieces had begun to disintegrate.

Still, the shop is open for business — at least for body work.

"As soon as we get Internet, we're good to go," Edwards said.

The shop had to call a special company, Universal Environmental, to pump out most of the water that flooded the underbelly of his operation. However, his crew was able to handle the few inches of water that seeped into the shop on their own, and have already bleached and scrubbed the floors.

Though Edwards was anxious to get back to work, he says one resident did jump the gun.

Just 20 minutes after a team had cut away a swathe of debris to let them access the shop, a woman pulled in requesting an oil change.

" 'Give us til Friday, I told her'" Edwards recalled.

One of his mechanics, Mitch Skelton, said he was sad to see the place such a mess, but he was grateful for how well it, and his Bluffton home, fared.

"We spent a bunch of money we didn't have staying in motels, but I told my wife, it could have been a lot worse. There could have been no building to go back to."

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This story was originally published October 12, 2016 at 11:34 AM with the headline "First look: Island Tire and Auto soaked, but open for business."