Explosions, fire severely damage Springfield power plant

SPRINGFIELD -- A series of explosions followed by a spectacular wind-whipped fire did extensive damage at Springfield's main power plant late Saturday, but caused no injuries, authorities said.

The blast -- one large explosion followed by about a dozen smaller ones -- occurred about 6:50 p.m, and the subsequent oil-fed fire was extinguished by 10 p.m.

Jay Bartlett, chief engineer for City Water, Light and Power, the city-owned utility, estimated that damage might amount to "many millions of dollars."

The city late Saturday was operating with electricity produced by CWLP's auxiliary generators and power purchased off the nationwide grid. Aside from brief and isolated outages early in the evening, officials said, customers should see no effects from the explosion and fire, the utility said.

The explosion took place in a brick building that houses the city's three main generators. Bartlett said the first and largest explosion was due to an electrical failure in an undetermined component, apparently located between the generator and a "step-up transformer" that converts electricity from 20,000 to 69,000 volts.

Springfield Fire Department spokesman Bob Reside said a large section of an exterior brick wall on the building's fourth floor collapsed during the fire.

"This just shows how dangerous this has gotten because of damage to the structure," Reside said. "We have to expect further collapse."

The fire was fueled by oil leaking from damaged and blazing power transformers and boosted by a 15-mph wind that gusted up to 24 mph.

Eleven employees were inside the plant when the explosions occurred, but all managed to get out of the building safely, Bartlett said.