SIKESTON POWER PLANT HIT BY FIRE

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston power plant was evacuated after a fire filled the building with smoke.

Sikeston Department of Public Safety personnel were called to the plant at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday after a failure in the 4,160-volt electrical switch gear created a small fire.

Officials said firefighters extinguished the blaze in about an hour.

Chester Cardwell, plant manager, said some firefighters were overcome by the heat "from working in a hot atmosphere with all the gear and emergency breathing apparatus."

An official at Sikeston's Missouri Delta Medical Center said five firefighters were treated in the emergency room and released.

Cardwell said the fire posed no danger to local residents.

The electrical switch gear supplies about half of the in-plant power for its operation, Cardwell said. Power to the city wasn't interrupted.

Damage was being assessed and could take two to three days to determine, officials said.