‘The Rusty Nickel’ boutique a ‘total loss’ after fire

(ABC 6 News) – Early Monday morning, Erin Peterson found her boutique in Manly, Iowa up in flames.

Fire officials calling The Rusty Nickel a total loss. Now, Petersen along with friends and family are left picking up the pieces of what was once the boutique – is now a pile of burnt remains.

RELATED: Fire destroys ‘The Rusty Nickel’ boutique

Many years of memories that have gone up in smoke. Now the clean up process begins.

Owner Erin Petersen is still in shock at what took place.

“We’ve been here for almost 14 years, and it’s been pretty heartbreaking to watch everything you’ve done go up in flames,” Petersen said.

The Rusty Nickel was a boutique shop that sold a variety of home decor items like antiques, candles, and furniture.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

“A lot of crying, you know you get all that time and effort put into it you just, where do you stop, it’s not that easy to handle,” Erin’s husband Mark said.

Mark and Erin were going through the rubble to find anything.

Some of the items were salvageable but for the most part, they were lost in the fire.

“We were able to pull out a couple pieces, there were a few pieces that I had for display that were my grandpa’s, that was pretty tough we weren’t able to save those.”

There is still a lot of work that needs to be done but Petersen is thankful for the support she’s received from the community throughout this tough time.

She also urges everyone to support local businesses.

“After COVID we lost so many businesses, the ones that made it through can still have tragedies like this.”

Petersen is waiting to see how much insurance will cover for the damages.

She is unsure what the future holds for The Rusty Nickel but she is hoping to bounce back.