Fire at Plant Causes $3 Million in Damage
A transformer and several thousand gallons of cooling oil caught fire Wednesday at an electrical generating plant near the Port of Long Beach, causing about $3 million in damage, the Fire Department reported.
No injuries were reported after the 4:40 a.m. blaze at the Long Beach generating station, near Pier B and the Gerald Desmond Bridge, a fire official said.
Firefighters used foam to douse the flames, which took more than an hour to subdue. The transformer will continue emitting smoke for at least two days as the oil keeps burning off, a fire official said.
The fire reportedly started when a piece of machinery used to cool the transformer failed and allowed the coolant oil to catch fire.
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