Small businesses often run on tighter budgets than most, budgets that can falter when a disaster strikes. When a local gun shop loses hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single day, they relied on the support of the customers and friends they have made to help them stay afloat.

Dana and Tim Barnett have owned and run Barnett’s Guns and Indoor Range since 2012, but when a fire this January took out the shooting range and part of the retail section, the family had to come up with the means to repair and renovate half of the 2,400-square-foot store.

They said the store lost roughly $560,000 from the fire alone, according to the insurance company, and that figure does not include the lost sales from having to close the gun range.

“The fire was on January 19, and starting January 20 we worked 10 hours a day to begin renovations,” Dana Barnett said.

The retail section of the store opened three weeks after the fire, but working on the rest of the store, including the gun range and the classrooms, has been taking longer.

“It took five months to remove all the debris from the fire,” she said.

The family did the vast majority of the repairs and renovations themselves, and so far, the cost of the repairs is about $2 million. The facility cost about $3 million when they first opened.

“It has been a trial,” she said.

There were tears in her eyes as she talked about the community support during the entirety of the renovation process. Customers and friends would bring in food, coffee and other supplies.

“Strangers became friends,” she said. “We want to thank all the community for their prayers and support.”

She said the fire originated from breaking the range’s safety rules.

“A customer snuck in unauthorized ammo into the range,” she said.

Now, however, she said the facility as a whole will be expanding, offering 12 shooting lanes.

“Normally, we would close the gun range for the classes to take their certification tests, but now we do not have to,” Barnett said.

The store offers a number of classes for current and future gun owners, including a handgun carrying permit class and individual training sessions.

The gun range also plays into the retail side of the store as well. Barnett said every customer who purchases an item at their store gets a free day at the range, so the customer can ask questions and practice using and cleaning the product before they even leave the store.

“The larger box stores do not even let you do that,” she said. “We want to provide that space to test the equipment out before going out into the world.”

Currently, the plan is to complete renovations and reopen the range by the end of December or the first of the year.

Barnett said they plan to charge $12 per person but unlike other ranges, they do not impose a time limit to the range.

Barnett said they are a “small business living in a big box world,” but she would pit their customer service against anyone’s and would be confident Barnett would win.

“We only sell quality products,” she said. “We know many of our customers on a first-name basis.”