BARKER, N.Y. — One firefighter was injured battling a fire that happened at an old power plant on Friday morning in the Town of Barker.
The firefighter was transported to a local hospital to be treated.
The Niagara County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call about the fire, which happened in the 7700 block of Lake Road, at 9:22 a.m. Niagara County Sheriff’s deputies and the Barker Volunteer Fire Company were first on the scene.
There, black smoke and flames were seen "coming from the top of one of the power plant modules in the flue gas desulfurization building." According to the operations manager, employees were cutting a hole when a rubber liner on the inside of the building caught fire.
The fire then spread "to the wood platform and plastic chevrons inside the building," according to the sheriff's office.
All employees were able to evacuate safely. Fire companies from across Niagara and Orleans counties and people from the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station helped put out the fire.
Fire companies are still on the scene as a precautionary measure during demolition.
An investigation into the cause of the fire has begun.