WORTHINGTON -- The Worthington Fire Department responded to a report of a fire at 12:13 a.m. today at Bedford Technology, located north of Worthington, just off U.S. 59 at 1180 27th St.
A bad connection on an incoming electrical transformer was blamed for the blaze.
“They had some arcing in one of the transformers,” explained Worthington Fire Chief Rick von Holdt. “It got hot enough that it was leaking fluids out of the transformer, and we had a good fireball out there.”
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Firefighters were able to “get it knocked down” and were on scene for about an hour.
“We had to use a lot of foam to contain it,” von Holdt said.
The proximity of the transformer to both the building and a propane tank was of concern, von Holdt said.
“It was a little close -- probably a few feet from a propane tank. But it was all exterior, so that’s good,” von Holdt said, noting that the company makes recycled plastic lumber products, which could easily fuel a much more potent blaze.
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“It’s scary when it’s that close to the building, but we were able to cool it down,” commented von Holdt. “There were city electricians on scene last night to contain some more of the fluid that was leaking.”
Bedford Technology CEO Brian Larsen expressed gratitude to both the firefighters and city crews who were on scene and quickly averted a greater catastrophe.
“Thanks to the fire department and the city guys on the electrical side who were quick to get out here and give us a hand,” said Larsen.
Production had ceased at Bedford Technology because of the fire, Larsen confirmed.
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“We are going to lose some production, not sure how much or how long,” he said. “There was major damage to the transformer and the stuff outside. You lose power and you lose production.”
