While at the lake with family on Sunday, Chris Goertzen received a phone call informing him of the fire burning next to his business. 

The owner of Main Bread and Butter says he rushed back to Steinbach and saw that while his store was spared from the blaze, other businesses were greatly impacted. 

“Well, it's been quite an ordeal you know,” he says. “You expect a weekend to go normally, you enjoy the summer, and you get a call saying, ‘downtown is on fire.’ Reality is that it’s not my business that's on fire and I'm so grateful for that. I feel so badly for the people who have a business that is so affected by this. It's a tragedy for them.” 

Goertzen says he witnessed devastation along with hardworking firefighters from different departments, giving everything they have to protect the community. 

“I see firefighters that have been working tirelessly, trying to make sure that other businesses are safe and I'm just so grateful for them,” he says. 

There was a lot of heat and smoke coming from the fire, but Goertzen says his store was kept safe. 

“We've been very lucky,” he says. “The wind was from the right direction, and in fact, I'm standing in my business right now and I smell very little if no smoke. And we're just going to do a thorough clean and make sure that things are safe and we're going to be ready to open, again.” 

Goertzen repeatedly expressed gratitude to the emergency responders for their work. 

“They're all here to make sure that everyone is safe and to minimize the damage,” he says. “I’m grateful to see people working together to make sure we're all safe in our community.”

On the Main Bread and Butter's Facebook page, Goertzen posted a photo with him standing with some of the firefighters he is so thankful for.