Tim Topornicki, president & CEO of Topper Linen & Uniform, was on a weekend skiing trip when the phone rang shortly after 5 a.m. on a Saturday morning. The news was the last thing any operator wants to hear: his family-owned linen plant in Toronto was engulfed in flames and scores of firefighters were battling to save it.

On the way back to Toronto, Topornicki, days away from his 60th birthday, watched in horror as video coverage of the fire aired on his phone via YouTube and forced him to confront a harsh reality. “You’re watching your whole life go ...