When Alex Rahban grabbed a garden hose to help fight fires sweeping through Los Angeles neighborhoods, he didn’t know he was trying to save his own employee’s house. Five months later, his company Rahban Development is rebuilding that same home in what has become a deeply personal mission.
“Later on that day, we found out that we were at his home with other residents and other locals, just garden hoses trying to put out his fire,” Rahban, president of Rahban Development, said. “It was really disappointing actually to see his house go up in flames. But the nice part is now we’re working with him to help him rebuild.”
The employee had called out of work to evacuate while Rahban and partner Sam volunteered alongside firefighters. “We were helping actually put out fires, help residents evacuate, helping them carry stuff. We were digging trenches with them,” Rahban recalled.
Fire rebuilds differ from typical construction due to trauma, Rahban said. “You’re trying to bring people home – a traumatic time in their life when they lost everything. So beyond just dealing with the construction aspect of things, handling the fire has really been different in terms emotional support.”
The biggest challenge involves “clients and homeowners who’ve never planned to build a house, let alone plan to build a house after such a disastrous time in their lives. And all of a sudden they’re being forced to make a hundred decisions about layout material, design permits, timelines, and it’s overwhelming.”
The typical rebuild spans 10 to 14 months. The first two months involve design decisions, the next two to three months focus on permits, and the final six to nine months involve construction.
“The first step for any homeowner is first to understand what your budget is, what kind of funds are you working with,” Rahban advised.
For fire safety, he recommends standard materials like “stucco, fiber, cement siding, metal roofing or composite roofing” rather than expensive alternatives.
His message to fire victims: “We know all the residents are going through this time together and genuinely very important to keep the morale high, keep pushing through this together.”
