One of Benson Amps’ warehouses was fortunately able to avoid burning down in a fire that erupted in a neighboring building.
The boutique guitar amp and effects pedal specialist shared the news on its Instagram, and was quick to confirm that all of its staff were unharmed.
Of course, that is the most important outcome from the fire, but as for the firm's inventory, the products at the warehouse – which is leased for the purposes of upholstery and finally assembly – were also unscathed, and managed to avoid any smoke damage due to the quick actions of the firm’s workers.
The fire itself began in a food factory that is situated behind the Benson warehouse. After it got out of control, “100 firefighters and about a dozen trucks” were called to the scene to stop the fire from spreading.
“Yesterday was one of the craziest days in the life of our business,” Benson writes. “We lease a warehouse where all upholstery, final assembly, testing, storage and shipping are performed.
“The noodle factory behind us burned down,” it continues. “Apparently it started in a grease trap and quickly spread through the building. Luckily the fire never reached any adjacent buildings.
“We don’t think we lost any amps to smoke damage thanks to the quick work of a group of employees that bagged everything up. I don’t think we lost anything at all other than a day of production.”
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Benson has confirmed it has since resumed operations at the warehouse after the fire scare. Indeed, the next post was business as usual, with Benson unveiling its newest release: a gold Vincent head and matching 2x12 cab, which will drop on Saturday.
“Not sure if this could have prevented anything here,” the post concludes, “but let this serve as a reminder to check your fire extinguishers and smoke detectors!”
Benson will consider itself fortunate that the fire didn’t cause any serious damage, just as Joe Bonamassa would have been when a fire almost destroyed his Nerdville museum in equally distressing circumstances.
Not all are as lucky, though. Peter Frampton, for example, lost a huge amount of gear as a result of a flood that wiped out 44 of his guitars.
Visit Benson Amps to browse its range.
