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At 1am on September 17, 2025, Adam Wexler’s phone broke through his snores. He silenced the call and rolled over. Four hours later, the insistent ring jolted him awake. “When Ray, an amazing man who oversees the pier and runs everything around here, called me at 1am, I ignored it,” Wexler recalled, “though fire did cross my mind, because this space is entirely timber. Then my employee Robert Kapszewicz called, and I went to the warehouse at 5:30am.”

Starting in the early morning, a five-alarm inferno tore through the historic 19th-century Beard Street Warehouses at 421–499 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn, home to dozens of artists’ studios and Wexler’s 7500-square-foot hi-fi store, Resolution Audio/Video (RAV). 250 FDNY firefighters battled the flames.

What Wexler found was shocking. “FDNY was still fighting the fire, very intensely. There was a lot of smoke. The water in the street was up past my ankles. Fire was surging out of the roof. It was hard to tell exactly what was burning, there was so much smoke. But we were able to see our security cameras; the power had not been cut yet. We saw a little water seeping under the door, and we thought we were okay. Then the fireboats pulled up and went to town, full-scale water blasting.”

Wexler’s business comprises new equipment sales covering dozens of popular hi-fi lines including AudioQuest, dCS, Leben, Shindo, Box Furniture Co., DeVore Fidelity, Fyne Audio, Nagra, Riviera Labs, Rockport, Bowers & Wilkins, Dynaudio, McIntosh, Accuphase, Sugden, and more.

“We’re not going to talk in the past tense, because I still carry those lines,” Wexler said in our interview in front of the warehouse. Lining the back of Wexler’s cavernous space was—is—an inventory of classic components from Marantz, RCA, JBL, Thorens, Audio Research, Garrard, and EMT lines, all from StereoBuyer’s, his used-hi-fi business. Wexler also does high-end custom installations, with 40 projects in progress, each with potential value of between $300,000 and $1 million.

The fire did not reach Resolution A/V, but the water did, and the smoke. Losses are likely to be extensive. When asked to place a dollar value on it, Wexler held up his hands, saying, “multiple seven-figure amounts. Millions.”

“I'm fully insured. It's just that my losses might exceed my policy because you never plan for losing everything. And I'm wrangling multiple insurance companies right now to try to understand what is covered. These insurance policies are hundreds and hundreds of pages long. Not only did I lose physical items, but I need to continue paying people.

“My business is interrupted in many ways,” he continued. “I just need to know what's covered. I don't exactly know anything beyond the fact that most things likely got drenched in water and exposed to smoke. My policy is great, but I fear that the loss will exceed my coverage by a significant amount.

“I'm still in a very strong financial position, and we're not going to go out of business. There's no chance of that. But when you have a big staff like mine, you have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders.

Regarding that: Wexler’s businesses employ eleven, he told me. “Some of these folks have worked for me my entire time being in business, since 2011. They get health insurance, 401(k) contributions, and there is profit sharing. We treat each other well. We’re a big family. My number one goal right now is to make sure my business is safe so that they can continue working.

John DeVore of loudspeaker manufacturer DeVore Fidelity—RAV is a longtime dealer—has started a GoFundMe page for Resolution A/V with a goal of raising $65,000. “Adam has told me clearly that he would prefer people purchase things from Resolution A/V as a sign of support instead of donating,“ DeVore wrote on the GoFundMe page. “But I'm going to say right now that he will need all the help he can get to rebuild his 7500 square foot showroom, warehouse, and offices.”

“Many of you have seen the positivity, joy, and passion that Adam and his team have been putting out into the world via YouTube and Instagram and in person,” DeVore continued. “They've been a positive force in the hi-fi and smart home industry.”

Visit gofundme.com/f/resolution-av-rebuild-fund to contribute.