AUGUSTA — The Augusta Civic Center opened as usual Wednesday following a small electrical fire that was reported about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“We were back up at about 5 a.m. this morning,” said Earl Kingsbury, director of the city-owned civic center on Community Drive. “We’re not going to skip a beat.”
Kingsbury said he understood that possibly some rainwater had leaked through the roof, resulting in an electrical fire in one of the panel boxes.
Units of the Augusta Fire Department were on the scene for about two hours.
Kingsbury said a number of utilities and companies responded, including Summit Natural Gas, Augusta Fuel Co., Mechanical Services Inc. and a roofing contractor.
“We’re in great shape. We have a fabulous staff that was able to get the building back up before the sun came up,” Kingsbury said, adding that preparations were underway for an upcoming trade show by the Maine Department of Transportation.
Augusta Fire Department Deputy Chief David Groder said a three-phase panel shorted out, one that handled 480 volts, which is four times the usual residential power. The panel was on the second floor of the main building. The civic center opened in 1973 and has had additions and renovations since then.
“What actually happened is still under investigation,” Groder said Wednesday morning. “Something caused it to fail.”
He said there were no injuries and the origin was not suspicious.
Central Maine Power Co. responded and shut off the power and Summit Natural Gas turned off the gas.
“There was some smoke,” Groder said. “We spent some time getting rid of the smoke.”
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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