An electric pressure washer in the repair bay at the Salem Police Department caught fire for an unknown reason Saturday morning.
Salem Fire Chief Jim Cerny says the washer was isolated from other equipment, and they were able to knock down the fire before it advanced any further. There was considerable smoke from burning plastic and rubber, and enough heat to damage the controls on the backup generator that supplies emergency power to a part of the building.
The telecommunicator was trying to locate the source of smoke coming from the building when the smoke alarm sounded in the repair bay.
The fire call came in at 6:30 Saturday morning with firefighters on the scene for about 45 minutes.
