The first firefighter, who fell over hose that was being extended from fire equipment, was taken to a hospital. The second firefighter, who suffered an electrical shock, was evaluated at the scene. Their names and ages were not released.
Bowers said the problem was traced to an electrical substation on the roof that has electricity flowing into it, but not out of the transformers. The substation heated because electric power had not been flowing through it for an extended period of time.
“So, it caused an electrical fire on the roof,” the district chief said. “We pulled up. There was a lot of black smoke visible. We were fearful the roof was on fire.”
Bowers said his crews worked with plant management to de-energize the transformers in the substation and his crews used a small amount of water as well as CO2 extinguishers, rated for electrical fires, to douse the flames.
Bowers said plant management will be able to put a dollar figure on the damage to the transformers and the facility’s roof.
“Operations at the plant will not be interrupted because the transformers are not being used to energize anything inside the plant,” he said.
Crews were dispatched to the plant about 4:40 p.m. on a report of a possible structure fire. The plant was evacuated and fire crews were sent to the roof at the northeast corner of the facility, near Stanley Avenue.
According a quick online search, MAHLE Behr Dayton is a 570,000-square-foot manufacturing and assembly facility. Production includes heater cores, HVAC modules, radiators, engine cooling modules and fan clutches.
Bowers estimates that the company employs up to 1,000.
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