PETERSBURG, Va. — A small bakery owner in Petersburg is crediting her upstairs neighbor with saving her business during a recent flood that threatened the Old Towne section of the city.
Claudia Glazier, owner of Buttery Baking House, arrived at her shop after the storm to find sand and debris outside but surprisingly little damage inside.
"All the sand that went through all this part to the street, it scared me. I thought, 'Man, I'm done,'" Glazier said.
The only issue she encountered was difficulty opening the shop's back door. When she walked around to investigate, she discovered why – someone had created a makeshift barrier with bricks and rubber to block the floodwaters.
"Here there were bricks, up to here, building with thick rubber," Glazier said. "Wow. This literally helped stop the bakery from flooding."
During the height of the storm, Glazier noted that "there was a river running in between buildings," which could have devastated her kitchen and business.
It took several days before Glazier learned the identity of her "guardian angel" Jason, a neighbor who lives in the building above her bakery. She shared the discovery with Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham.
"Jason is our neighbor, he lives in the building," Glazier said. "But it never occurred to me that somebody will go in the middle of the rain, just to help us."
Mayor Parham expressed his gratitude for the neighbor's quick thinking.
"Knowing Petersburg and how this water rips down this alleyway here, I'm just so thankful and amazed that Jason came to the rescue of Buttery Baking House and definitely saved one of our most viable businesses down here in Old Towne," Parham said. "We definitely have these guardian angels around."
The flooding could have been catastrophic for the small business and its employees.
"At this point of the business, I will definitely not be able to afford any situation like that," Glazier said, adding that without Jason's help, her employees "would probably be at home or trying to find another job."
Laura Noyes, owner of Roberts Awnings and another Petersburg small business owner, was impressed by the neighbor's act of kindness.
"It may have seemed a little thing to the guy, plugging that door, but I mean, that's her livelihood, that's her business, so for her, that was more than just a small act of kindness," Noyes said.
Jason, who spoke to CBS 6 off-camera, said it took about 10 minutes in the pouring rain to build the makeshift barrier – 10 minutes that Glazier says saved her business and allowed its doors to remain open.
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