A malfunctioning drive belt on an air blower sparked an early evening fire at the City’s Waste Water Treatment Plant on Powerhouse Road on Thursday August 14.
Chief Rob Girard said heavy smoke greeted Fire Rescue Service crews when they arrived shortly after 7 pm.
“A fire attack team quickly entered the structure and knocked down the fire with a small amount of water allowing the steam to extinguish the fire that was extending into the ceiling,” he said in a statement. “Fire crews then began positive-pressure ventilation and overhauled the area the fire extended into.”
There was no one in building when fire crews first arrived on scene. The fire was extinguished and overhauled in just under one hour with an initial response time of just under three minutes.
The service responded with two Engines, Ladder 6 and a Command vehicle and 20 personnel. No one was injured.
“The fire at the Waste Water Treatment Facility was minimized because of the quick response by Revelstoke Fire Services,” said Development Services Director Mike Thomas said in the statement. “Damages are estimated to be about $50,000 at this early stage of assessment. If response had been a few minutes longer the damages would have been significantly more extensive.”
And stinky.
The three blowers, including the one that was damaged blow air through the three settling septic ponds. The two remaining blowers should be able to handle the load for a while, Thomas said in a brief telephone interview.
If all three had been damaged the air in South Revelstoke could have become rather, well, fragrant.
Fortunately, crews are working diligently to repair the damage, Thomas said.
