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UM heating plant fire prompts brief evacuation

A fire at the University of Montana’s heat and power plant prompted a brief evacuation at the building Monday afternoon.

UM police distributed an emergency notification to the entire Missoula campus a little after 3:30 p.m. telling building workers to evacuate.

Pedestrians were told to stay away from the recently updated facility which sits near Washington Grizzly Stadium.

The all clear was given about a half hour later.

According to the City of Missoula Fire Department, the fire started in one of the recently-updated plant’s two boiler heating units, with heavy smoke billowing from the building.

No one was injured and the fire was quickly extinguished. Missoula Fire estimates the damage at about $30,000. Scattered power outages were reported on campus during the incident. Those were done as a precautionary measure as firefighters worked.

A UM spokesperson says the university bought power from Northwestern Energy as it brought power back online.

Separately, the university disputes a charge sought by the energy company for being a provider of standby power in case of service interruptions.

A full investigation will be conducted to determine the origin of Monday’s fire.

Edward O’Brien first landed at Montana Public Radio three decades ago as a news intern while attending the UM School of Journalism. He covers a wide range of stories from around the state.
edward.obrien@umt.edu.  
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