PELHAM, Ga. (WALB) — A fire destroyed roughly $15,000 worth of equipment belonging to Proffitt Apiaries, a family-owned bee business in Pelham.

The fire destroyed feeding totes, boxes, feeding buckets, frames, lids, pallets, and a vehicle belonging to Roger Proffitt. The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Family faces cost of rebuilding

Dustin Proffitt and his father, Roger, work to provide bees to local farmers who rely on them for pollination.

“The financial burden of having to redo what we’ve already built. You know, a lot of the stuff that we make here by ourselves, so now we’ve got to put the manpower in and buy the... buy the tools and stuff needed to put them together, the equipment,” Dustin said.

Dustin is a third-generation beekeeper and is set to get married at the end of this month.

“When you have a wedding coming up, it’s the most stressful time, getting down to the nitty-gritty and making sure everything’s where you want it and how you want it. It’s just another thing on the top of the list that adds up over time, you know,” Dustin said.

Community support sought

The family is now facing the cost of replacing the damaged equipment and recovering from the loss.

“We really put a lot of time and effort into our bees, and we work bees what we think is the proper way. We believe in respecting the bees and being kind to them, and they’ll be better to us. So to see them lose all this equipment, it bothers me, just because it’s... it’s bees. They’re so important to our livelihood. They’re responsible for two-thirds of our food, so... that we eat,” Dustin said.

The Proffitt family is asking for community support as they work to rebuild their business. They have created a GoFundMe for people who would like to donate.

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