Edgewater, Fla. (January 4, 2009) – Everglades Boats, a leading manufacturer of luxury-fishing boats, experienced a fire over the weekend in the R&D portion of its manufacturing plant. The fire, believed to have started when an overhead factory light burst and showered sparks over a curtain separating work sections, damaged materials, tools and facilities but will not hinder current production. Official damage estimates are not available until insurance and fire officials finish with standard procedural reviews of property.
The fire started approximately 4:30 PM on Sunday, January 3 and was quickly extinguished by local City of Edgewater fire fighters. Based on official reports, local engine 55 was dispatched to scene at 5:26 PM, arrived at 5:32 PM and fire was reported under control at 6:39 PM.
According to Fire Marshal, Jeff Lariscy, “The fire sprinkler system alerted Everglades’ security monitoring service personnel who made the first call to local fire authorities. The sprinkler system contained the fire exactly as it was designed prior to arrival of fire fighters who then extinguished the blaze at its source.”
“We were blessed to have such a quick response from the local authorities and based on our initial visual inspections, our current production rate will continue unhindered,” Stephen Dougherty, President, Everglades Boats.
In fact, for 2010, Everglades has increased production rates on its main manufacturing lines and has increased the plant and office workforce to a total of 60 employees. Everglades is also actively searching for qualified lamination, assembly and finishing personnel to support the anticipated increase in demand.
According to company President, Stephen Dougherty, “Our current field inventories are at their lowest levels in seven years. The market demands are far exceeding our ability to manufacture boats at this time but we are thankful to have weathered the storm and look forward to the challenges ahead.”