LOCAL NEWS: Electrical Fire In Joppa
Fire Crews, BGE Battle Electrical Fire In Joppa
The volunteer fire company in Joppa Magnolia and the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company were forced to battle a raging fire at 10am in a company control room. The fire company was called and told that it was electrical hazard and immediately responded.
The fire took place in a control room at 40 Fort Hoyle in Joppa. The first firefighters on the scene immediately saw smoke billowing from Hartford Industrial Minerals the morning of July 16th. They claimed that the smoke tower was a t least three-feet high, meaning that the fire was very extensive and well underway by arrival. It is possible that it was probably reported wrong (as it was reported as an electrical hazard and not fire). Several trucks arrived on the scene, and the fire was put out fairly easily. Upon arrival the volunteer company began to immediately battle the blaze, wasting absolutely no time.
It took nearly an hour to put out the fire, the last fire fighters leaving the scene at 11am. There were no injuries that were reported of company workers, civilians, or fire fighters. The control room was extremely damaged and will need several hundred dollars worth of repairs to become operational again.
Looking at pictures of the destroyed control room you can easily see how extensive the damage is. The ceiling is charred, electrical boxes have slightly melted, and outside of the control room is obviously the site of the fire. The fire did not spread, possibly because the control room is located well above the ground a slightly removed from any trees.
There was a full scale investigation of the burned control room and Baltimore Gas and Electric Company claimed that it was simply an electrical malfunction that caused the fire. They are unsure exactly how the malfunction happened or why it started the fire. However, they claim that there was no foul play involved with the fire.
Before the fire could be extinguished completely Baltimore Gas and Electrical Company was forced to cut the structure off from the main power source. It is now officially cut off from power, so the risk for a second fire is now extremely low. The company intends to restore power once the control room is fixed and is deemed safe.
The structure will begin to be repaired as soon as possible and will be used again once it is deemed safe. The Baltimore Electrical Company claims that the control room will be operational soon and that this does not affect the company in a negative way.
