Crews respond quickly to bank

Plains firefighters were able to stop a smoking blower fan motor from expanding to a fire at Rocky Mountain Bank in Plains last Sunday.

Fifteen firefighters from the Plains Volunteer Fire Department and the Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District responded to the smoke detector alarm shortly after 9 a.m. “Upon entering we found that the basement was full of smoke and what appeared to be an electrical smell,” said Anthony Young, chief of the Plains Volunteer Fire Department and the incident commander. Captain Larry Neilson was the ranking person from district, which was providing mutual aid assistance. Fire hoses were laid in the parking lot in case the smoke turned to flames.

Young said they conducted a search of the building for possible issues and shut off all the heating units. They ventilated the basement in an effort to locate the source. “Once it was smoke and smell free we were able to track down a heater vent that still smelt like electrical burn,” said Young, who added that the culprit was a blower fan motor. He said the damage was minimal and no flames appeared. Once the faulty heating unit was found, they turned the remaining heating units back on. Firefighters conducted an exit search before turning the building back over to the bank and departing the scene shortly before 1 p.m., according to Young.

It was Megan Beason, the bank’s on-site manager, who let the fire crews in the building. She said the burned out motor, which was about the size of a bread box, would be replaced in the near future. She said the incident didn’t prevent the bank from opening Monday morning and the lobby had no smell of smoke. She said they were grateful for the quick response time of the fire department.

Members of Plains Community Ambulance and the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene.