An overheated test engine led to a small but stubborn fire at the General Electric River Works facility on Thursday afternoon. There were no reported injuries.
Firefighters from several ladder and engine companies had to deal with the intense heat coming from the blaze, which was isolated to a test building on site according to Lynn District Fire Chief Stephen Archer
Once the engine overheated, material lining the test facility’s roof caught fire, Archer said.
“Firefighters dealt with punishing heat conditions,” he said. It took nearly two hours to fight the flames.
In a small stroke of luck, Lynn firefighters were at the River Works site performing a walk-through, according to Archer. That made for an instantaneous response once the alarm was sounded.
“No one was hurt; workers in the building were safely evacuated and, thanks to the quick response from Lynn Fire and our onsite emergency-response team, the fire was quickly extinguished,” GE spokesman Richard Gorham said. “We will next survey the extent of the damage and commence investigation into the root cause.”
