Shiretown Tire reopens for business

FARMINGTON – Sometimes it only takes five seconds to completely alter the course of your life. Five seconds during which you turn one way instead of the other, decide to take a call or not, or step away to refill your coffee.

On the morning of Sept. 16, 2019, Mike Parlin had just noticed his empty coffee cup and headed to the pot for a refill when a structural beam from the building next door blew through the wall of his shop and landed exactly where he and his nephew had just been standing.

The beam had been shot roughly 200 feet from the LEAP Inc. building next door to Parlin’s business, Shiretown Tire and Auto Repair.

Parlin started the business 14 years ago, offering a variety of services. In addition to selling and changing seasonal tires, Parlin offers mechanic work, oil changes and alignments.

Years of operating the business were interrupted by the explosion, which completely destroyed the new administrative and training building at 313 Farmington Falls Road as a Farmington Fire Rescue and a LEAP staff member investigated a propane leak. Capt. Michael Bell, 68, a 30-year veteran of Farmington Fire Rescue, was killed in the explosion. Six other firefighters were seriously injured as well as the LEAP maintenance employee Larry Lord, who remains hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The leak was later traced to a buried line that investigators say was severed by a post, one of four installed to protect air conditioning units.

“My nephew was reaching for the door and it just blew off. He was blown backward onto the floor and it blew me onto the filing cabinet,” Parlin said. “When we finally got our senses back I looked into the shop and the beam had taken out the compressor and landed on the lift where we had stood talking five seconds before.”

Parlin was in disbelief at the scene – both at the absence of the brand-new building that had stood only minutes before, as well as the destruction of his own business. Inside Shiretown Tire, sheetrock had been blasted off of the walls and the majority of the roof was destroyed, not to mention the giant support beam in the middle of the room.

“My phone started ringing like crazy. My nephew ran over and started helping firefighters get out from the burning basement,” Parlin said.

Both Parlin and his nephew were diagnosed with concussions from the blast. Parlin said he still struggles with dizziness and a ringing in his ears.

Beyond his personal health, Parlin has also been enduring an ongoing struggle with the insurance company. While his actual shop has been fully repaired, and has since reopened for business, Parlin said his personal insurance coverage has been more difficult.

“Insurance doesn’t cover what you think it’s gonna cover. It just feels like they’re pushing me away,” he said.

The timing of the explosion couldn’t have been worse for Shiretown, whose primary months of business are when people are seeking winter tires. Parlin was forced to close his doors for all four of his typically busiest months. The business is now officially open again, just in time for the slowest season, Parlin said.

“I’m kinda just wondering what to do next. I really don’t know,” Parlin said.

Shiretown Tire reopened late last month, for the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday through Friday. To schedule an appointment, call Parlin at 491-1389. For up to date information, find Shiretown on Facebook by clicking here.