Veteran-run business asks for community help after damage from explosion

SAND SPRINGS, Okla. — While the Aug. 27 explosion itself is now a criminal investigation, a business inside the Sand Springs property that had no part in it is now asking for the community's help staying afloat.

The Tulsa-area 1-800 Water Damage franchise is run by Army-veteran Stephen Kerley and his wife, MaRanda. Ironically enough, the disaster restoration company run by the couple for four years finds itself at the wrong end of its own chaotic scene.

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“We’ve never seen anything like this," MaRanda Kerley told 2 News on Sept. 2. "I don’t think there’s any playbooks on what to do when you’re involved with an explosion.”

Kerley said the family business lost its shop, work van, personal car, restoration equipment, and woodworking tools when the fatal explosion ignited just feet away in the early morning hours of Aug. 27, just after their 20th wedding anniversary.

“That’s been the hardest part for us because we’re used to going out and helping families in need in times of disaster," Kerley said. "And it’s the whole reason why we got in this business.”

The family now has to replace commercial dehumidifiers, scrubbers, tubing, thermal injectors, and a whole lot more that made their income possible. All this, Kerley said, while their insurance claims look to be months away from resolution with no start date yet because of the crime scene.

Kerley said the family business reluctantly started a GoFundMe to help keep operations from going under permanently.

However, Kerley said she thinks most of the two souls lost.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to those families. And I hope that everybody’s praying for them,” she said. “Those precious lives cannot be replaced. So it’s a hard place to be in. We are counting out blessings that we weren’t here because our family is here often, and there’s a lot of people up here.”

Kerley said she and her husband are looking to move operations nearby but don't know when they can reopen for business.

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