ST. MICHAELS, MD - A structure fire caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage at a Talbot County water treatment facility Sunday night.
31 of the St. Michaels Volunteer Fire Department responded to the fire on E. Marengo Street just before 11:30 p.m. on December 3rd after a firefighter who lives nearby reported it, according to the St. Michaels Fire Department. It took the firefighters nearly an hour and a half to contain the fire within the one-story brick water treatment facility, the Fire Marshal says.
The St. Michaels Fire Department says both the State Fire Marshal and the Maryland Department of Environment both responded as well due to the presence of treatment chemicals, though no health or environmental impact is expected. St. Michaels will lose the use of the well for the foreseeable future, the Fire Department says, but the loss should not be a major issue due to lower water usage during the winter.
St. Michaels Town Manager Rob Straebel tells WBOC that a second treatment facility will be adequate for the town while the damaged treatment facility is down. The St. Michaels Fire Department asks neighbors to conserve water where they can until the well and plant are back in service.
Total damage to the treatment facility and its contents is estimated at $350,000. Both the fire’s area of origin and cause are under investigation, and the Maryland State Fire Marshal asks anyone with information to contact them at 410-822-7609.