Hildale-Colorado City firefighters respond to machinery fire near Centennial Park – St George News

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

1 3 minutes read

Firefighters responded to a report of a machinery fire at a commercial building in the Centennial Park area that had been largely extinguished by the building's fire sprinkler system by the time they arrived, Centennial Park, Arizona, June 14, 2024 | Photo courtesy of Hildale-Colorado City Fire Department, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – A fire belching thick smoke from a building in the Centennial Park community attracted firefighters from nearby Hildale and Colorado City late Friday afternoon.

The Hidale-Colorado City Fire Department was dispatched to the area of 2000 South and 200 East after receiving an emergency call about a large machine catching fire inside a commercial building.

“When we fired, we found heavy smoke coming from the interior portion of the structure and coming out the back,” Hildale-Colorado City Fire Capt. Jesse Barlow said in St. George. “It was very thick smoke.”

Despite the dense smoke, firefighters could see the smoke begin to change color when the first fire truck arrived on scene, meaning the building's sprinklers began working and attacking the fire, a Barlow said.

When firefighters entered the building, they found that the fire had been heavily contained by the sprinkler system and they extinguished what remained.

The fire was mainly contained to the machinery which caught fire, causing some minor structural damage to the building.

No injuries were reported in connection with the fire and the cause remains under investigation, Barlow said.

A team from Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue also responded to the scene at the request of the Hildale-Colorado City Fire Department, as did officers from the Colorado City Police Department.

Photo gallery

Mori Kessler is a senior reporter for the St. George News, having contributed as an interim writer and editor in 2011-2012 and then deputy editor from 2012 to mid-2014. He began writing news as a freelancer in 2009 for Today in Dixie and joined the St. George News editorial staff in mid-2010. He enjoys photography and won a photojournalism award from the Society of Professional Journalists for a 2018 photo of a bee inspector removing wild bees from a Washington home. He is also an unapologetic nerd and has a poor sense of direction.