Fire Destroys Utility Shop and Vehicles in Wisc.
A fire engulfed a utility-shop garage and destroyed 10 vehicles.
The Xcel Energy garage following the aftermath of the fire. Photos courtesy of Xcel Energy
The Xcel Energy garage following the aftermath of the fire. Photos courtesy of Xcel Energy
A fire burned a garage and 10 vehicles at an Xcel Energy utility shop in Philips, Wisc.
The fire was spotted by a motorist on Friday at about 4:30 a.m., and when firefighters arrived, the building was engulfed in flames. No employees were at the facility at the time.
The estimated value in damages in total is between $6 million to $8 million, said Christine Ouellette, the senior media relations representative for Xcel Energy.
Some of the destroyed vehicles, which included digger trucks and bucket trucks, cost more than $250,000, according to waow.com.
The facility prior to the destruction of the garage. Photos courtesy of Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy reacted promptly in response to the destruction of the garage and the loss of the vehicles.
“Within an hour or two of the fire even occurring, we had trucks from neighboring service centers arrive and were there just in case there were any issues with our customers in that part of our service territory,” Ouellette said, adding that Xcel Energy is handling the investigation of the cause, which may take months to determine.
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