By Chase Holmes, News Reporter
TRUSSVILLE — Thanks to the generosity of a local church, CrossFit Trussville never missed a beat following a fire that gutted the facility at 145 Railroad Ave. almost two weeks ago on May 7.
The first order of business for CrossFit owner Andrew Rape was locating a facility where workouts could be held temporarily while a long term solution could be worked out. That need was fulfilled when a local church in Trussville provided space for the business to operate.
“We actually never missed a single class and have been operating out of Gateway Family Church in Trussville,” Rape said. “We are tearing down every Friday and setting up every Sunday. I don’t want to get ahead of myself but it seems as though people are adapting well, no cancelled memberships, only people signing up.”
Trussville Fire Chief Tim Shotts said firefighters were able to respond quickly to the blaze when the 911 call came in because a TFRD crew was in the immediate area at the time, but the fire was already well underway.
“We had units returning from an earlier run when the CrossFit call came,” Shotts said. “They were able to jump right on it, then the other stations responded to help.”
Shotts said the business was closed at the time of the fire and there were no injuries. The fire appeared to have been burning in the interior of the building for quite a while before 911 calls came in.
Rape and his team had to move quickly to be ready for members after the Sunday afternoon fire caused extensive damage to the building.
As the name implies, CrossFit relies on multiple diverse workout stations, inside and outside of the building, to meet cross training needs. In other words, the comeback wasn’t as simple as moving some weightlifting equipment to a new building.
Andrew Rape of CrossFit Trussville works to build outdoor training facilities at temporary location.
“We are pouring a foundation of an outdoor pull-up rig, cutting a trail run, building a bridge for a short run, and adding an outdoor space as well all this week,” Rape said.
Watching a fire take so much away in a matter of hours that had taken years to build can be emotionally devastating, but Rape and his team didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on the loss. They had to focus on moving forward for the sake of their members and the business.
“Couldn’t have imagined this going so well,” he said. “We are adapting as best we can and trying our hardest to provide the best we can to our folks!”
Keeping an existing business going while facing the prospect of a permanent rebuild is daunting, if not overwhelming. But Rape’s attitude in the face of the challenges is a joyful one.
After recounting the work required to just keep the operation going, it was clear that Rape didn’t view the tasks ahead with a sense dread, but with excitement and anticipation.
“Starting the process of rebuilding, as well,” he said. “So, we have that to look forward to well down the line.”
