The sun and a misplaced skylight started a fire Friday on the roof of the new Cortez Fire Protection District station on North Washington Street.
The blaze was quickly extinguished, but it damaged the roof and destroyed some skylights, said Assistant Chief Shawn Bittle. No one was injured.
As part of the construction project, workers were installing 13 skylights, and had put eight in place. The units have multiple mirrors and magnifiers that collect sunlight to provide natural lighting inside the new building.
Bittle said the construction crew was wrapping up for the day, and had inadvertently placed a skylight near some cardboard. The skylight magnified sunlight enough to ignite the cardboard, Bittle said. Flames shot up 8 feet, consumed the uninstalled skylights and damaged part of the roof, Bittle said. Construction workers attempted to put the fire out with fire extinguishers, but it was not enough.
“We brought up our water lines and put a fast stop to it,” Bittle said.
Some fire crews were at the high school teaching kids about fire extinguishers when they got the call. As part of protocol when there is a structure fire, mutual aid was called in, from the Lewis-Arriola Fire Department, but they were called off about 2:40 p.m.
“It was a shock to say the least to get this call,” Bittle said. “Nobody was hurt, and the damage is repairable.”
The seeming irony of a fire at a fire station happens nationwide every year, he said. Causes usually are attributed to the kitchen or malfunctioning fire equipment.