Eurorack maker WMD let us know that they’ve had a setback because of an arson fire.

WMD head William Mathewson says that there was a fire in the other half of his building that impacted WMD. While it’s a setback for the company, it sounds like it is a manageable one:

“It was an arson and the suspect has been caught and charged. Nobody was hurt fortunately, as there are residents in our building on the top floor.

WMD was affected by some smoke and water that ruined some cardboard, at the very least. And we’re doing facility water mitigation, drying out the antistatic floor. Fortunately, most modules/pedals were in sealed bags/boxes and are not damaged, aside from some mild smoke smell. We might have some mechanical parts that were exposed and I’m going to work through the insurance process there.

I’m unable to work in the space or ship things for a few more days, so bear with us while we pick up the pieces here.”

WMD has had a challenging few years, as a result of the pandemic-related global parts shortage. They announced that they were shutting down in 2022, because they weren’t able to get parts to build any modules and couldn’t pay their bills, as a result. In 2023, they announced that they were reorganizing and earlier this year they let us know they were back in business.

“I just want to make art and music,” says Mathewson, “but here I am sweeping up the charred debris of trying to do good in the world.”