Big Fire at Woodland Scenics

For those of you who do not already know, there was a fire today at Woodland Scenics in Linn Creek, MO. Two of three buildings were destroyed, but everyone got out safely. This is a good organization of great people and I am sure you join me in wishing them all well.

Here is a link to the story: http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-huge-fire-destroys-business-in-linn-creek-20120105,0,4228890.photogallery

Best regards,
Roger Bernhardt

 

I am glad everyone got out safely and no one was hurt.

However, I would fully expect prices to double as a result of this tragedy from supply and demand. And we all know what happens once prices go up.

 

Wow! I hope they have good insurance!

150 employees is a pretty good sized business. I'm a little surprised they're that big.

 

Hmmm...having once been associated with the fire protection and insurance field I'm hoping that WS was well insured and with good coverage. Tough economies often cause owners to skimp on, cut way back on, or even drop, needed aspects of their coverage and can result in bringing on the abrupt final closing of a business. WS is probably the hobby's largest supplier of ground cover, so I'd hope that they were quite profitable and thus well protected. Even so, I would imagine a full, perhaps even a modest, recovery is going to take an extended period and certain supplies may become very scarce in the marketplace, becoming much higher priced as a result. Not a good situation for the many already cash-strapped hobbyists of today.

NYW&B

 

I am very pleased that everyone is safe. However, many are now unemployed...or will have to be laid off indefinitely. The only way around that is if they can lease new suitable facilities nearby so that people won't have to change their commutes much, and if their suppliers can pull six consecutive overnights and ship them a bunch of ground foam and stuff so they can fill orders. Yeow....this is really nasty for a whole bunch of reasons. But, everyone gets hug in person tonight. That can't be a bad thing.

 

That is sad...........both from a hobby perspective and a human perspective. What a crappy time to be out of work, right after Christmas!!
I wonder how long it's going to be before the criminals on "Evil-Bay" start listing ground foam as "RARE"???

 

I give it less than 24 hrs. Remember when the Tsunami hit? It wasn't hardly a day had gone by and people on the "Bay" were advertising Kato locos as "radiation free". I could not believe it!

 

Very sad... to see this happen. While its great news that no lives were lost... I agree that the personal toll of losing their jobs even for a few weeks can be difficult for many of the employees. Unemployment compensation usually doesn't get the bills paid... and the length of time it will take for Woodland Scenics to re-establish production may be deterimined by the insurance company that (hopefully) insured them.

As far as Evil-Bay... I can envision the tag line for WS products as "Smoke Free" vintage collectable. :tb-mad: :tb-hissyfit:

 

Well, their web site is down. That might actually be good news, if the fire damage was confined to administrative areas. Generally, a well-run business would have all their computer files backed up off-site, so re-establishing that part of the business could be fairly easy. Loss of a warehouse or shipping facility would mean delays for us, while loss of manufacturing capacity could have the most serious impact, with models and molds perhaps lost forever.

 

Woodland Scenics 70 Percent Off Fire(works) Sale! Okay that was in bad taste. And 150 employees? That's pretty small, I thought they were bigger than that.

 

150 employees adds up to a SUBSTANTIAL payroll.. that's not a small outfit.

This story is bad news for us but probably crushing news for families losing income.

 

you guys see ARMC's shameless plug/comment?
http://www.connectmidmissouri.com/n...f=notif&notif_t=open_graph_comment#f3feb417b8

 

This fire has taught everyone one thing.... Firefighters who responded and controlled the blaze with no injuries don't get the respect they deserve. So lets all give these firefighters a big thank you. And lets also be thankful that Woodland Scenics people got out all alive. The business can be rebuilt, human beings can not.

 

From what I find this morning is that the site contains several buildings and that at least two were destroyed with another receiving heavy smoke damage.

 

Am I missing something in the article? I dont see where ARMC made any type of plug. Unless I am not reading it in its entirety.