ST. LOUIS — A south city contractor is out of a job after his entire business was forced to close Friday morning because his tools were stolen.
"I'm a one-man show," said Dan Fuchs.
For Fuchs, his tools are his lifeline.
A little over a year of running Clydesdale Contracting, he's used to putting a roof over his client's heads. But those tools also put a roof over his own head.
"What I had there was Milwaukee and it's top of the line stuff and I saved many years to get some of this. I use those tools to pay the bills and now I'm out, and I could be out of work for a while," Fuchs said.
Friday morning, Fuchs went to the Southampton neighborhood to meet with a client. He said he went to the store for two hours and when he came back, he saw the gate ajar.
"I noticed the side door of the garage open," he said. "I walked in and... devastating. I saw the big chop saw was there and everything else had been taken."
Fuchs was robbed of his livelihood.
"Everything that you see in the picture except my chainsaw and my two lights were stolen. So all my drills, saws, anything I use to cut my flooring tiles everything gone in an instant," he said.
$5,000 gone, and his insurance isn't covering any of it. Fuchs is in shock that his moneymaker has been taken, but he said it's a reflection of the crime that continues to happen in south city.
"I want to work, I want to work on people's houses, make the community better. But we can't do that when our tools are getting stolen," Fuchs said.
He hopes police can nail down the person who did this, so he can get his hands on his tools once again.
Fuchs believes that it will be sold in bulk, so he's hoping everyone can be on the lookout.
He made a Facebook post after it happened, which has gotten thousands of shares. Since then, he said many people have been helpful.
If you'd like to help, he says you can contact him on Facebook or email him at dfuchsstl@gmail.com. You can also click here to go to his GoFundMe fundraiser.
OTHER LOCAL NEWS: