State Hospital Fire Caused by Generator Testing

Officials say a two-alarm fire Wednesday night at Tewksbury State Hospital was caused by bi-annual generator testing the hospital was conducting earlier in the day.

Tewksbury Fire Chief Michael Hazel said the generators are put under a full electrical load for 2 hours and the heat generated in the exhaust pipe caused combustible material at the roof level to smolder and eventually it ignited.

Upon further investigation, a second generator roof exhaust pipe was found to have the same issue and was corrected by fire crews and Tewksbury Hospital engineering staff.

Hazel says the damage was limited to the roof area around the vent pipe.

Initial reports of the fire came in just after 9 p.m. Wednesday night. The fire quickly went to two alarms for manpower to fight the fire which included heavy smoke conditions on the fifth floor of the Saunders Building.

A fire watch was posted at both locations throughout the night to ensure there was no recurrence of fire, according to Hazel.