DAVID Oakley confessed to having undaunted strength and faith  as he tended chirping chickens on Sunday morning.
Selling birds has been part of David’s business for decades before buying the now-destroyed W Jennings building in 1979.
His customers have come from all over Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales for the Hyline brown chickens. “They are the world’s best (egg) layers”, he said.
David was checking in on the chickens just minutes after a friend had driven along Storm Lane and gave him a Bible.
Lost in the fire had been Bibles that David would sell or give to people interested in Christianity.
Not lost, the life-size Guide Dog that had received loose change donations. It had stood sentinel at the doorway to the 1866 building and continued David’s support of guide dogs that saw he and mother Minn train dogs to assist the vision impaired.
“In the 70s, 80s and early 90s we trained 34 dogs,” he said.
That was soon after David arrived in Inglewood in the 1970s and when he placed an annual order for chickens that would arrive by train at 6am.
“That was an order once a year ... 25 sent by rail. Now I order 10 times a year,” he said.
Last Thursday’s fire was not the first misfortune David has experienced.
As a young man in his 20s - he turns 87 this October - David was electrocuted and unable to work.
When he came to Inglewood, business was making PA systems and amplifiers from the former Pelican Hotel building across Brooke Street from the Jennings store ... and selling chickens.
He also sold Hornby train sets, continued collecting nuts, bolts and screws. Control units for train sets were also made by David for clubs in central Victoria.
David was living in a rear section of the Pelican Hotel when fire destroyed his home a first time on December 19, 1999. “That was the birth date of my grandfather.” There was no insurance claim on the Pelican fire, just like last week’s blaze.
“I was offered insurance on the Pelican at (a premium) of 25 per cent of the building’s valuation, I declined and took out a self-employed retirement fund instead,” David said.
His eyebrows and hair still singed from Thursday’s fire, David had left the building mid-afternoon to take books and model sets to another of his properties.
“As I was coming back, I saw smoke. I opened the fire door - the original back door of the store - a little and promptly closed it. As I walked I asked the phone to call 000.
“Inverters on the solar panel starting beeping, I turned them off.”
Last week’s fire destroyed the historic store, unique stock that filled shelves and every centimetre of floor space.
“I will continue with the chickens. We need to look after the food,” David said.
The octogenarian businessman said he was comforted by friends and neighbours in the days after the blaze. And his companion, Victor a mareema dog. “I am very thankful for a lot of good neighbours and friends.”