Conveyor System Malfunction Causes Fire at PA Power PlantConveyor System Malfunction Causes Fire at PA Power Plant

A yet-to-be-determined malfunction on a conveyor belt sparked large fire at a Reading, PA power plant early Tuesday morning, Reading Deputy Fire Chief Gary Mogel told The Reading Eagle.

Used to carry wood products over 1000 ft at the Evergreen Community Power Plant, the conveyor belt created heat and ignited the material, offloading burning wood into a wood-storage silo. The burning wood and other material in the silo turned into a “deep-seated fire,” Mogel said, driving firefighters to apply water directly to the inside of the silo.

“It’s a unique fire because of the industrial nature,” Mogel told the Eagle.

Crews were dispatched at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and battled the fire until about 12:30 p.m., when firefighters left as the smoldering blaze was contained to the silo. Firefighters returned at about 8:45 p.m. after a call reporting a large volume of smoke emanating from the conveyor belt.

Mogel told the Eagle that crews then tackled residual fire in the conveyor belt, using lines hooked up to a standpipe at the site to run water down the belt. Another crew worked past midnight to extinguish the fire in the silo, the Eagle said.

Local television news station WFMZ reported that no injuries occurred as a result of the incident.

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