Reclaim Detroit suffered a major setback on the morning of February 4, when a fire claimed nearly all of its inventory and equipment. As reported by The Detroit News, the fire burned down a 565,000 square-foot warehouse in Highland Park, and firefighters worked for two days to put out the fire completely.

While the cause is still being investigated, according to The Detroit Free Press, explosions that contributed to spreading the fire were likely due to propane tanks that were being stored in the warehouse. Fortunately, there were no injuries, only grave financial losses in the wake of the fire.

Reclaim Detroit construction is an organization formed in 2011 that sifts through Detroit’s over 78,000 vacant structures for reusable materials as opposed to simply demolishing the building. By doing this, fragments of Detroit’s history are preserved and wood is salvaged to be reused.

Deconstructing homes also prevents material from unnecessarily being piled into landfills, improves local economies, offers busnesses new opportunities, and offers people careers. The work of Reclaim Detroit provides the city of Detroit with a safer and more productive solution than demolishing old buildings. The infusing of old materials into new buildings keeps part of Detroit’s history intact, which arguably is the trademark of a good city: a combination of modernity and antiquity.

Reclaim Detroit collaborates with Henry Ford College to provide job opportunities to an even wider audience. Large scale projects are not the only venue for the hopeful rebuild of Detroit that Reclaim Detroit has been enacting. Numerous private contractors and personal home builders have utilized their online store and home base to gather building materials for anything ranging from plain wood to vintage antiques that can add a cultured look to one’s home.

Being a nonprofit organization is another way that this organization has given itself over to the city of Detroit.

Despite the devastating loss due to the fire, Reclaim Detroit has refused to give up and continues to be committed to their vision of a restored and refurbished Detroit. After all the giving back that Reclaim Detroit has done for the community, the roles are now reversed.

Reclaim Detroit is seeking donations, which can be made at: crowdrise.com/supportreclaimdetroit.