Wells Sanitary District
ELECTRICAL ROOM FIRE
On January 24, 2023, Wells Sanitary District’s (WSD’s) standby generator caused a fire in the Electrical Room Roof.
WSD would like to thank all who helped us in dealing with the fire and the recovery.
Specifically, WSD thanks Wells Fired Department and Wells Police Department for the swift response to the alarm. The alarm sounded at 3:23 p.m., Wells FD arrived and extinguished the fire by 3:30 p.m. Kudos to the firefighters who put out the fire so quickly. Thanks to Sargent Arrowsmith (Wells PD) who arrived quickly and kept order around the chaos. Thanks also to neighboring fire departments of Kennebunk, North Berwick, Ogunquit, & Sanford who sent their crews to help.
WSD thanks Rob Weymouth (KKWWD) and his colleagues who brought their generator to the site within 1.5 hours of the fire. Rob instructed WSD on operating KKWWD’s standby generator and ensured it was ready for connection at the west end of the treatment facility. KKWWD also brought their light tower so that WSD and contractors could see work safely after sunset.
WSD also thanks Phil Pickering (Ogunquit Sewer District) who brought a standby generator to the site within 1.5 hours of the alarm. Mr. Pickering worked side-by-side with WSD’s electrical contractor, Electrical Installations, Inc., to connect the generator to the east end of the treatment facility.
WSD thanks Jim Fritz, Sr. (EII) and his family and colleagues who also responded within 1.5 hours of the fire. EII is a family-owned business that has served WSD well for more than 20 years. Mr. Fritz had teams working on both ends of the treatment facility hooking up the borrowed standby generators at the same time. EII was instrumental in getting WSD’s treatment facility back on line within 8 hours of the fire. Kudos to their team.
WSD also thanks Nest & Sons, Inc. and A-1 Septic for their quick action and response to WSD’s call. They literally bailed WSD out of a bad situation, preventing overflows by transporting our wastewater to Ogunquit Sewer District for treatment.
WSD thanks Sean and David (Northeast Earth Mechanics) for removing the old generator from the room, and removing the supply fan and exhaust pipes from the roof.
WSD thanks Insurcom, Inc. (ICI) and Board Up for quickly responding to the incident. Board Up repaired the hole in the roof caused by the fire the night of the fire. ICI had a lot of the debris removed from the electrical room on the night of the fire.