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City administrator says Broken Bow power plant had crank-case explosion Feb. 20; crews restored power after 33 hours
Summary
City Administrator Schmidt reported a crank-case explosion in engine #5 at the city power plant on Feb. 20 that caused a fire and a 33-hour outage; he thanked city electrical crews, mutual-aid responders and the public. Fire Chief Watson provided an update on grass fires and mutual-aid housing at the armory.
City Administrator Schmidt told the Broken Bow City Council on March 3 that in the early morning hours of Feb. 20 the city power plant experienced a mechanical failure described as a crank-case explosion inside engine #5. According to Schmidt’s account in the meeting minutes, the resulting mechanical failure caused a valve cover to blow off and strike the electrical bus, causing a massive short and a subsequent fire; the plant was shut down and the city was without generation for an extended period while crews restored power (Schmidt said power was restored after about 33 hours).
Schmidt thanked the city electrical department, mutual-aid crews, first responders and city personnel for their response and thanked citizens for their patience during the outage. The meeting minutes do not include a detailed incident report, damage estimate, or a timeline of repairs beyond the statements in the public meeting record.
Fire Chief Watson also updated council on grass fires the department monitored following the initial call, and thanked the City for opening the armory to house mutual-aid firefighters. Mayor Rod Sonnichsen and Councilmember Paul Holland publicly thanked emergency personnel and the local media for their roles in keeping residents informed during the incidents.
