Generator catches fire at hospital site
By John Joyce
Published in News on October 30, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Members of the Goldsboro Fire Department work to extinguish a fire in the generator at the new Cherry Hospital construction site Wednesday afternoon.
A diesel generator used to power a building during construction at the new Cherry Hospital complex caught fire during elevator stress tests Wednesday.
The project is no stranger to setbacks. The site was originally scheduled for completion in 2012 but was delayed in July by an estimated 18 months. Other issues have included a series of bomb threats that stopped work and problems with subcontractors.
Damage from Wednesday's fire represents an estimated $200,000 loss, Goldsboro Assistant Fire Chief Frank Sasser said.
There was no damage to the actual new Cherry Hospital building.
"What caused it, we're not sure. It is a diesel generator that got overheated is all we know for sure right now," he said.
No one was injured in the fire, but workers will have to further inspect the unit before they know how extensive the damage is.
"They aren't going to learn anything until they get in there and tear it apart," Sasser said.
He said the project manager, Ron Godwin of Capri Electrical Corp., told him the unit would be a total loss.
No one from the electrical company would speak on the record about the setback Wednesday.
"No comment," Godwin said.
The fire call came in at 3:45 p.m. Dispatchers told responding units that the caller described the structure as a construction trailer about the size of a singlewide mobile home that had caught fire behind the building site.
Cherry Hospital Police and the Goldsboro Fire Department responded, and Wayne County emergency personnel also were on hand.
Firefighters spent more than an hour working to effectively cool down the pipes leading from the generator to an exhaust vent.
Sasser said the pipes filled with fuel and overheated, sending white smoke billowing into the air.
Sasser said water was used to extinguish a small blaze the firefighters first encountered in the generator's engine room. The pipes filled with diesel fuel continued to be a problem long after the fire had been contained.
"It pumped fuel into the exhaust, which has four or five pipes going into one joint, like a big muffler to a tail pipe. The fuel had gotten to that so it had to be cooled down," Sasser said.
Firefighters switched to foam and worked in phases to cool the pipes down systematically, saying to do so too quickly might further damage the unit.