Despite losing nearly everything in a fire just before Christmas, Barrie Paintball owner Mike Clark says he's eager to get people back out playing as soon as possible.
And that includes a GoFundMe campaign to rebuild and reopen.
The fire, which occurred on Dec. 23, 2023 at the facility, has forced Clark to temporarily close the gates of the popular paintball spot, which is located on the 10th Line of Essa Township, just a few minutes west of Mapleview Drive in south-end Barrie.
Although he admitted there will be a lot of work required to reopen, his goal is to reopen “as soon as possible.”
Based on what he says he’s hearing from his insurance company, Clark says he's aiming for March 1.
Although the business was insured, Clark said it likely won’t fully cover the losses.
Money raised through the GoFundMe will be used to help replace damaged gear, such as suits, masks, paintballs and paintball guns, as well as rebuild the structure that served as the business’s base of operations.
“We are pretty much under-insured when it comes to a lot of our equipment and our stock," he added. "We need trailers and some sort of temporary shelter to set up until we have a new building."
Clark says he’s now had an opportunity to take stock of the damage, and although not all of the masks were melted in the fire, the smoke damage, along with potential exposure to heat from the blaze, has pretty much rendered them unusable.
“I don’t know if we could put those on somebody’s face … plus the plastic might be compromised. A paintball hit might shatter the mask now, so we are thinking in the interest of safety we should replace all of the masks,” he said.
“All of our coveralls are definitely smoke-damaged as well, and there’s a lot of water damage in the building," Clark added.
Barrie Paintball has been operating on the 50-acre property for 24 years. In addition to it serving as home for the business, the property also includes his house.
Although his home was not damaged in the fire, Clark is unable to live there until services are restored to the entire property.
“The building that actually burned was pivotal to the whole property," he said. "The drilled well was located at that shop. The pumps and all the hydro that supplied water to the house are all inoperable right now. We have to get some sort of a temporary service in, and they’ve got to set up some shut off valves."
Clark says he’s been alternating between couch surfing and sleeping in his car since the fire.
“I have a bit of a motorhome now that I am trying to get set up," he said.
The facility is normally open year-round, with the only day it’s closed being Christmas Day, so the forced closure will have a significant impact on the bottom line. It could be in the neighbourhood of $100,000, Clark said.
The building where the fire occurred will also need to be torn down.
Clark hopes the site clean-up will begin this week.
Although there’s been no official cause determined, Clark said he believes the fire started in a vehicle located about six to eight feet from the building.
Damage has been estimated to be upwards of $800,000.
Over the years, Clark has seen a lot of different types of customers come through the gates. Paintball serves as a great way to build camaraderie and friendship.
In fact, that’s how the former Honda employee first got interested in the sport
“I was on the paint line and nobody really liked each other," he said. "They sent us to a paintball place and we had a game. You play on each other’s teams, you cover each other’s backs and by the end of the day we were all friends.
"It turned around the whole team. There’s really nothing like it.”
And that's what he's looking forward to getting back to in the spring.
