Martinsville,VA - A small electrical fire Tuesday afternoon near the drive-through window of the Fidelity Bank building uptown forced employees to evacuate, but the damage was minimal, officials said.
Shortly before 3 p.m., the Martinsville Fire and EMS Department responded to reports of smoke on the first floor of the building at 231 E. Church St.
Fidelity Bank Branch Manager Sabrina Head said “sparks started flying” from an electrical outlet where a portable heater was plugged in near the drive-through. An employee put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, but the bank “completely filled up with smoke” after that, she said.
The bank staff called 911 and evacuated. Employees on floors two through five also left the building.
Martinsville Fire Marshal Ted Anderson added it was “100 percent accidental.” There were no injuries and no structural damage to the building, he added.
Damage is estimated at $2,000, Anderson said, stemming mostly from cleanup of the smoke and extinguishing materials.
Martinsville Fire Chief Kenneth Draper said the bank employees acted correctly. “If you think you have a fire, spray it and then get out,” he added.
The fire was out by the time firefighters arrived, so they did not have to use any type of suppression, Anderson said. Responders isolated the circuit powering the portable heater and turned the electricity off.
They also shut down the building’s ventilation system and set up exhaust fans to prevent any smoke or dry chemical fire extinguisher residue from spreading further throughout the building.
Stone Ambulance also responded to the incident.
A power failure affected the Fidelity building and other areas of the city earlier Tuesday afternoon, but it “had no connection to the fire,” Anderson said.
He noted the extinguisher the employee used was a dry chemical extinguisher, which was “proper for that type of fire.” Water would have made matters worse, he said.
In similar situations, he advised using a fire extinguisher on fire “if you’re in a position to do so without endangering yourself or anyone else.”
In an electrical fire, “first off, you want to kill the power source,” Anderson said. “That disconnects the electricity, which is the ignition source.”
Anderson also urged following manufacturer instructions when using a portable space heater and monitoring it at all times. He said the heater at the bank appeared to have been properly used.
Portable heaters always should be plugged directly into a properly grounded wall outlet and never used with an extension cord, Anderson said. The heater should be kept a safe distance from any potentially flammable material. |
