Bottecchia sees production HQ destroyed in fire
Italian bicycle manufacturer Bottecchia suffered a large fire at its manufacturing headquarters that took hold on Sunday night.
Local media report that the cause of the fire was believed to have been the short circuiting of stored electric bike batteries, making the fire incredibly hard to control once it had begun. No employees were hurt in the blaze and the cost calculation is not yet known.
The burning was in fact so intense that the entire roof is reported to have collapsed under the heat. The fire was still been fought by local fire crews into yesterday and a decision not to enter the building was taken by fire crews in respect of the dangers to the structure. All in all, fire crews were drafted in from Venice, Mestre, Treviso, Rovigo and Castelfranco.
“On Sunday, September 25, we experienced one of the worst pages of our history. What happened at our headquarters in Cavarzere is an unprecedented event,” wrote Bottecchia on its Facebook page.
“We are already reorganizing to start again as soon as possible. We know a lot of you are waiting for deliveries. We ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time. We will do our best to keep you updated on the restart timings as soon as possible.
“As cycling teaches us, sometimes we fall, but we need to find the strength and courage to get back on the saddle and start again.”
Concerned about the fire risk of electric bikes and wish to understand best practice for safe and secure battery storage? Check in with our guide here.
