A flash fire threatened the Minden, NV North Sails manufacturing plant during the early morning hours of Monday, January 13. The fire would have been worse if the company's employees hadn't acted as quickly and efficiently as they did, with seven employees escaping the flames without injury. Fire officials managed to put out the fire within minutes, although damages are still estimated at roughly $250,000.
The chemicals used in sail production are highly flammable, and are currently being cited as the source of the fire.
"It was rare in the sense that everything North Sails does is cutting edge technology, so it's slightly higher risk than a normal manufacturing operation, but with proper safety procedures in place, we had a good outcome," said the East Fork Fire District Captain Terry Taylor to My News 4.
When PUMA was taking part in the Volvo Ocean Race, they toured the facility and outlined how the sails are made. See the video here - it's an incredible process.
