From the Forest to Recover Quickly After Factory Fire

Weston, Wis.-based wood flooring manufacturer From the Forest expects to be back up and running and filling orders the week of Feb. 18 after a fire in its factory on Jan. 31 stopped production. One of four large belt sanders in the factory started a fire that caused damage worth $1.2 million.

None of the company's 28 employees was hurt in the blaze, which was contained to the sander. Within 30 minutes the fire was extinguished and the sander was hauled out of the factory, said Susan Lang, From the Forest vice president and general manager.

"It looks like there has been no event in the factory," Lang said. "We were, however, affected by the smoke that was created." The company is now removing any raw materials or flooring damaged by the smoke. "We are in the process of eliminating that material, cleaning out everything in the factory to make sure there's no scent of the smoke and replacing the sander," Lang said, adding that insurance will cover the losses.

The cause of the fire in the sander is currently being investigated. At this point, "The best we can tell, something got out of alignment and caused a spark, but we really do not know," Lang said.

From the Forest manufactures private label wood flooring collections for distributors and national accounts in North America. The company was started by Lang and Tryggvi Magnusson in 2007.