Business owner numb after fire

Oct. 26--Clint Hughes said he was numb when he learned a fire destroyed his piano restoration business, Grand American Piano, Monday night north of Moscow.

He has restored pianos for about 25 years, including the last 10 in Moscow. But facing at least $1 million in damages and not knowing whether insurance will cover the losses has Hughes struggling to find his next step.

"I don't know what I'm going to do now," he said. "This is all I've ever done."

Hughes was in Oregon as part of a western U.S. business trip that included picking up and dropping off pianos when his friend and owner of the barn Hughes was renting called and told him to pull off the road so he can deliver the devastating news.

"I didn't know what to do or say," Hughes said after receiving the news.

He said his fellow church members texted him shortly after the incident, asking what they can do to help. Hughes said he spent Tuesday sitting in his recreational vehicle staring at the wall in disbelief.

The blaze, reported at about 8 p.m. on Foothill Road about three miles north of the city limits, swirled 50 feet into the night sky. No one was injured.

Hughes said 50 to 60 pianos were consumed in the fire. He estimated he owned 30 or 40 of the pianos, and he was restoring the rest of them for clients.

The fire also destroyed several of Hughes' high-end guitars, his van, his business computer and records, and all of his tools, materials and equipment used to acquire, rebuild and deliver pianos.

According to the Latah County Sheriff's Office, an open-flame kerosene heater was unplugged but left on a timer and ignited a blanket, believed to have caused the fire.

Moscow Volunteer Fire Department Chief Brian Nickerson said via text the cause of the fire is still under investigation, considered accidental at this time and he hopes to have more information early next week.

Hughes said he has a few pianos he collected on his trip that need work, but he does not have the tools to restore them. He also owns a couple of pianos in an outbuilding, but the legs of the pianos were destroyed in the fire.

Hughes said he specializes in refurbishing "golden era pianos," or pianos made between roughly 1900 and 1930.

He had been operating Grand American Piano at the barn since December. Hughes said the facility was intended as a temporary space for his business and he wanted to build a shop where he lives on Orchard Avenue in Moscow.

When he first arrived in Moscow a decade ago, Hughes said his business was on the corner of Palouse River Drive and U.S. Highway 95. He then moved it just south of the city limits on Highway 95.

Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.

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