Late-Night Fire Damages Rochester Power Facility

Jun 2

*Firefighters work to extinguish a fire Sunday night inside a building housing a gas-powered turbine generator.* ***Via Rochester Fire Department***

A fire broke out late Sunday night at a facility in northwest Rochester, damaging a building that houses a gas-powered turbine generator.

According to the Rochester Fire Department, crews were called just after 11 p.m. to 1814 7th Street Northwest, where they found heavy smoke coming from a large structure and flames showing through vents on the outside of the building.

FREE > Sign up for the MN CRIME newsletter

The fire was inside a turbine generator used by Rochester Public Utilities.

Firefighters worked with RPU employees to shut off gas and electricity to the building before going in. Once it was determined to be safe, firefighters used large amounts of water and firefighting foam to bring the fire under control. Crews then searched the building for hot spots and worked to cool down the area.

READ MORE > Rochester coverage

The fire caused major damage to the equipment inside and left the building with minor to moderate damage. No one was hurt.

Officials said fires like this can be dangerous due to the equipment involved and praised the coordination between fire crews and utility workers. The cause of the fire has not been released.

> See more of our latest coverage