Electrical fire destroys Livonia gym, owner says insurance won't cover it all

LIVONIA, Mich. (FOX 2) - Eric Zimmerman’s life’s work – Phoenix Freerunning Academy is gone after an electrical fire ruined it all.

You can hear it in his voice, see it in his body language - heartbreak.

"It caught fire early Tuesday morning and it spread through the whole gym," said Eric Zimmerman. "Up here was our foam pit, this is where people would come to learn cool moves like flips."

The Phoenix Freerunning Academy was a one-of-a-kind spot, in Livonia for families to parkour, if you don’t know parkour, he describes it like this.

"It's kind of like urban acrobatics, it's a combination of running,  jumping, climbing, flipping, vaulting," he said.

A niche activity – if you don’t fit into those traditional sports, that dream, up in flames this week.

"We spent the last eight years, building, creating, modifying a unique space that doesn’t exist anywhere else," he said.

The tough part is – they do have insurance, but it’s not covering the damage you see here, and a handful of employees are now out of a job – that’s why they’re looking to you for help.

"Everything in the gym was custom-built by ourselves, there is nothing you can really just order online and having it shipped to you," he said.

It’s in their namesake – "The Phoenix" will rise as they start to rebuild. Go HERE for the fundraising page.