Andrew Sinclair couldn’t have timed it any closer to the tragedy: He signed the lease to open his coffee shop in Altadena the day before the Eaton fire exploded in the hills above Lake Avenue, killing 18 and charring 14,021 acres before it was contained on Jan. 31.

Driving into the area days after Jan. 7, Sinclair, 33, brought coffee from his other Mad Lab shops as well as slices of Joe’s Pizza Guys for first responders. He found his way to his newly-leased vintage gas station on Lake Avenue and found it still standing.

“I couldn’t believe the space had survived,” Sinclair said of the 1920s garage, painted green and named “KC’s Service Station” for a film shoot. “What was cool was I was looking inside and see it was filled to the brim. The garage bays too: there was a grandfather clock

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