Fire at MU Power Plant stamped out quickly

Columbia firefighters dump debris onto Fifth Street outside of the MU Power Plant on Wednesday evening. A fire broke out in a server room in the southeast corner of the plant but was quickly contained by officials who got the call at 5:47 p.m.   ¦  SARA STOGNER

COLUMBIA — A fire at the MU Power Plant on Wednesday evening was quickly contained by Columbia firefighters, saving about $100,000 worth of computer equipment, Battalion Chief Gary Warren said. The fire was in a server room on the southeast corner of the plant, which is near the intersection of Fifth Street and Stewart Road.

The fire was started by welders who were installing a valve on piping as part of MU’s construction on steam tunnels on Stewart Road, Warren said. There were no injuries in the fire.

“We were pretty fortunate there were a couple of officers near the space and they were right on point,” Warren said.

Firefighters received a report of the fire at 5:47 p.m. and responded with multiple trucks. When firefighters arrived they encountered light smoke and visible flames coming from the base of a wall. The fire was extinguished by 6:04 p.m. There was roughly $5,000 in damage, Warren said.