Battery Junction Fire

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I also hope everyone is ok and they get back on their feet quickly.

I've dealt with them for the first time just last week and the service was outstanding.


Markus
 
Just read this and it's absolutely awful.

MattK and the team are just awesome and have been absolutely fantastic in all my dealings with them in the past.

The main thing is that nobody was hurt, and I am sure, with such a fine team and a top notch business, they'll be up and running sooner than later.

I think their main problem is the flood of orders they are going to get when the website starts taking orders again!
 
Hi folks.

Thank you for your support and understanding in this thread - it means the world to me and my staff.

The good news is that no one was hurt and that our data is safe. Everything else is just 'stuff' and stuff an be replaced.

We are fully and adequately insured for the damages and lost business. No employees will be laid off as a result of the fire and we fully expect to resume normal operations ASAP. In the meantime we have decided to suspend the acceptance of new orders until we can again ship them in a timely manner.

All customers with unshipped orders have been emailed with the choice to wait/edit/cancel and our CS reps are working from home, via our terminal server, to answer emails, cancel/refund orders as needed, etc. Please be patient as our CS responses are going to be a bit slower than normal as only 1/2 of them are working from home and the other 1/2 are in the office helping to deal with the aftermath.

The news reports are, unsurprisingly, a bit exaggerated - here's what happened.

At ~3:30 a fire broke out - the cause is still undetermined.

The sprinkler system contained the fire to 2 back to back racks in our warehouse - a space of ~8 x 20. The problem is the sprinker itself got a ton of other stuff wet and a second sprinkler head in another location went off (due to 'smoke movement patterns' I am told) which caused more water damage.

The fire didn't 'reignite.' The fire wasn't truly out when they turned off the sprinklers. It was knocked down again in seconds after they turned off the sprinkler.

The bulk of the damages are due to water and smoke - not fire. It does stink. The DEP responds to every commercial structure fire. The only 'special' interest they have with our situation is that want any damaged batteries removed by a DEP licensed contractor.

The news video is a bit silly. I guess I should have talked to the lady but I was, as you can imagine, very busy and there were 3 news crews there and it just wasn't my priority.
She spoke to our marketing manager and 'spun' their conversation to make it 'sensational' - this is what passes for big news in our small state I guess.
A few clarifications:
-The windows were not 'blown out' the fireman broke them to ventilate.
-We're not going to be closed for 'a few months.' She asked Brian, our marketing manager, how long we would be closed, he said, 'we don't know' she said, 'a few months?' he answered, 'anything is possible - we just don't know yet.'

While we still don't have a firm reopening date our goal is to reopen in 3-4 weeks.
We have to replace a bunch of furniture, inventory and desktop computers. We have a lot of cleaning and fixing to do and we're off to a great start; the water has already been sucked up and there are about 30-40 fans and dehumifiers running and about a dozen huge HEPA systems cleaning the smell from the air. My warehouse crew worked their tails of yesterday saving critical inventory. I'm lucky to have such a great and supportive crew. We're a family business and my crew is part of my greater family - I know it might sound cliche but I think this sad event has brought us closer together.

The local fire response was amazing. While the fire itself was relatively contained there were, at the end, something like 18 firetrucks and 60 fireman from 5 towns on scene from what I understand. The firemen did a fantastic job controlling the situation and minimizing the damage. It never hurts when 1/2 of them are your customers and have been in you place before to buy lighting toys and their chief is your HVAC guy. :)

I appreciate the calls for donations and that's very sweet but not necessary as our insurance will cover any monetary needs/requirements.

The idea of holding off or not cancelling purchases is one that I can appreciate and get behind. :twothumbs:

Your good will and support helped us grow to what we've become and as we rebuild and reopen the site it will be critical to getting us back up to speed quickly.

I'll fill you in again as I have time and we're planning on posting updates on the homepage of the website as approrpriate.

Thanks again for the love and support here. :grouphug:
 
So Matt did you find out what was the source of the fire? Was it batteries? Flashlights? Something charging? If it's something we or anyone is using, it would be great to know so history doesn't repeat.
 
MattK said:
The good news is that no one was hurt and that our data is safe. Everything else is just 'stuff' and stuff an be replaced.
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Glad to hear it! :party:

The local fire response was amazing. While the fire itself was relatively contained there were, at the end, something like 18 firetrucks and 60 fireman from 5 towns on scene from what I understand. The firemen did a fantastic job controlling the situation and minimizing the damage. It never hurts when 1/2 of them are your customers and have been in you place before to buy lighting toys and their chief is your HVAC guy. :)
Click to expand...

and this too! :)

We hope you can offer your helpful services ASAP!

Best regards
Dioni
 
Thanks for the update Matt! Glad to hear it wasn't as bad as some feared!

I had an order to place that isn't a rush, and will gladly hold off until you are back up and running. Good luck getting things back to normal.
 
It has always been a pleasure dealing with Battery Junction, so I was sorry to hear about the fire, but glad that damage was controlled and that everyone is okay. I hope you get back on line quickly and will look forward to ordering from you again soon.
 
Thank you Matt for comming in here to give us the update. I feel sorry for your loss and even though I need some stuff I can surely wait for yall to get your feet back on the ground.
Great folks at Battery Junction
Billy
 
Thankfully everyone is alright.

Glad to hear that everything is on track and look forward to making another purchase from batteryjunction soon.

Wishing you all the best during this tough time.

tgwnn
 
Happy to hear nobody got injured and the material loss is insured. Hope you get back on track soon, Matt & co :) Any news about the cause of the fire? As it's in the warehouse, it makes me think of maybe li-ion cells? Just guessing of course.

Cheers to all!
 
I wish Battery Junction speedy recovery. And hope for the understanding and patience for orders made. Good luck, Matt. :thumbsup:


:grouphug:
 
andrewnewman said:
Perhaps there *is* something admittedly minor that the CPF community could do for the folks at Batteryjunction. For many of us, a good portion of our flashlight use is related to the "hobby" aspect (as opposed to those in law enforcement, fire and rescue, military and other professions). For those of us CPFers who are primarily hobbyists, maybe we could agree that if

a) the purchase is not a matter of life and death and
b) the purchase is one we would have likely made at Battery Junction anyway

that we will formally *not* seek an alternate source but rather wait until Battery Junction is back on their feet.

A private note I received from Battery Junction earlier today suggested that the damage was minor (400 square feet of the total warehouse). A report in the local news more recently, however, quoted a claimed Battery Junction source as stating that it, "might be months" before they are able to re-open. I would hate to lose this valuable and ethical vendor to the vagaries of our recession economy.
Click to expand...

Excellent suggestion. Mike and co. have been there for us.....let's make sure we're there for them.
 
Thanks for taking the time filling us out on the situation Matt. It's a good thing that no one got hurt and the situation came under control, at least. It could have been worst. Hope for speedy recovery. Would like to know what's the caused of the fire.

Take good care.
 
Thanks for posting the update Matt, it is very much appreciated. I am glad to hear that you have things en route to recovery.

BTW it really burns my bottom about the media coverage that you cite in your post - it seems like every time I get the 'inside scoop' from a person involved with an event it is substantially different than how the media has reported it. :mad:
 
Matt,

Glad everyone is OK. Really sorry to hear about the fire. Best of luck getting back on your feet.

MSax
 
Matt, I'm very relieved to hear that nobody was hurt. As you say, that's the most important thing.

I also hope your business is back up and running as soon as possible.

Life is full of setbacks but you seem to be reacting to this one in a very positive way which doesn't surprise me. :)
 
MattK just heard about the fire. happy as everyone here that you and your crew are safe & working to get back on line.

I take my place in line with the rest of the gang here with orders to be placed:wave:
 
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