WOFFORD HEIGHTS, CA (BRAIN)â€â€Not quite two weeks after its official Labor Day weekend opening, the Bionicon USA Headquarters and Demo Center in the Kern River Valley suffered a devastating fire.
The building, located on the main road in Wofford Heights, had undergone extensive renovations and improvements in preparation for Bionicon’s move to the Kern Valley. This was the company’s first full-time Demo Center in the United States. Other Bionicon Demo Centers are in the UK, Germany and Switzerland.
Nobody was in the building at the time of the fire, which was first noticed at about 4 p.m. last Friday. Neighbors called 911 and reported smoke coming from the roof. When firefighters arrived on the scene they were confronted with flames shooting out of windows, exploding shock cartridges and burning magnesium fork lowers. Owners Paul and Wendy Ferguson arrived on scene just a few minutes later, only to watch the building burn.
Investigators believe the fire was started by a faulty air compressor, though official reports are pending. The fire destroyed the entire inventory of bicycles, parts, frames and components as well as the workshop and the entire fleet of demo bikes.
Read the rest of the story on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News…
