Watertown Fire Rescue called to commercial building fire
May 3, 2022
Mike Tanner
WATERTOWN, S.D.–Watertown Fire Rescue was called to a commercial building fire at Automated Waste Systems at 3516 9th Avenue Southwest Tuesday afternoon.
When they got there, crews met with employees who said they had a couple electric breakers that kept tripping, and some lights were not working.
On initial inspection crews found an odor of smoke in the shop attic and offices. Crews accessed the attic space to find light smoke, indicating a smoldering fire.
After investigating the attic space crews found a smolder insulation fire, above a radiant heater that had malfunctioned earlier in the day, according to employees.
Due to the location of the smoldering insulation, crews cut the metal ceiling in the area of the fire and removed all the smoldering insulation.
The fire was contained the area of origin and turned back over to the owners for repairs. Fire crews were on scene for 90 minutes.
