At the store he opened on Pioneer Way, Kevin Magill enjoys a wide-open view of the world around him.

Light shines through enormous panes of glass, allowing Magill to bring in new inventory while also taking in the sights of downtown Oak Harbor and the surrounding seascape.

Even outside business hours, he often props open a door and invites those in who want to chat or inquire about his store, Island Liquidation, where he sells used furniture, collectables, tools and other household items that he acquires typically in large amounts.

The scenery, independence and illumination are all welcome to Magill, who spent 16 years working long shifts as a control room operator at the Tesoro Refinery in Anacortes.

He left that job on Jan. 1 and started his new venture a month later after cashing in his retirement to fund the startup.

He doesn’t regret the move.

“It’s been a lot more relaxing having an open schedule,” Magill said.

And there’s another perk.

“The boss isn’t going to fire me if I’m late,” he joked.

Smiles come much easier these days for Magill, 46, who’s followed his passion for buying and selling things and his desire to help others during some of life’s most trying times.

He purchases large quantities of items through storage- unit auctions, but also will go to the homes of people who are divesting estates or who are downsizing.

The inspiration for his business came from a personal experience.

“My grandfather passed away in 2013 and my brother, my dad and I, after we cleaned out all the sentimental items from the house, we were left with a whole house full of stuff that we didn’t know what to do with,” Magill said. “You can have a big garage sale but that takes a lot of time and effort. So I thought it would be a helpful thing for people to have a way to get rid of stuff where they could get something for it and at the same time they don’t have to deal with it.”

“We clean out the whole house.”

The idea to start a new chapter in his life was set in motion five years ago when an explosion at the Tesoro oil refinery killed seven employees.

Magill said he knew five of those co-workers well. Two of them, Donna Van Dreumel and Matt Gumbel, also lived in Oak Harbor. The three often carpooled to work.

At 12:31 a.m. April 2, 2010, Magill said he was in the middle of his work shift when the explosion shook the control room in which he was sitting.

The blast felt “like somebody took a pillow and hit you in the chest,” he said.

He remembers the frantic moments that followed and realization that co-workers and friends were lost.

He was shaken by the losses and went through a period of depression before ultimately recovering and re-focusing his own life.

“In normal life you have a family member who passes away or something like that and it’s sad,” Magill said. “It’s just one person, so it’s a little easier to deal with. But having five of your friends killed all at once and how much time (we spent together).”

“We worked 12-hour days. The time you were at home you’re asleep. You’re spending a third of your life with these people. You’re spending more time with them than you are with your family ­— so they are family.”

Washington state’s deadliest industrial accident in 50 years got Magill to start considering a change in careers, which led to his business startup.

The store, which is only open for business the first and third weekends of each month, is located at 1036 S.E. Pioneer Way.

“It’s nice to not have that stress,” Magill said. “When you’re actually working in the refinery, you know there’s that stress on you but you just deal with it. It’s just normal. So you don’t realize how big it is until you’re out of there and you’re not having to do it anymore.”

Magill said he receives a certain joy from bringing a smile to the face of a customer at his new store.

It’s part of the satisfaction he gets when a customer reacts to a collectable item they’ll spot on a shelf.

“People come in here and it evokes memories,” Magill said. “They’ll say, ‘Wow, I haven’t seen that in years.’ It could be an Atari. I sold a Commodore 64 that I got in a storage auction.”

“A lot of the things I have I had on my shelf at home for years.”

To learn more about Magill’s business, go to www.islandliquidation.com