Fire under investigation at Westar facility in Lawrence

Posted: February 5, 2014 - 4:48am
Updated: February 5, 2014 - 2:01pm

Firefighters from several Douglas County township fire departments are on the scene of a reported building fire at the Westar power plant.

Crews were called to the plant shortly before 4 a.m. on reports of black smoke coming from a heavy equipment building on the property located at 1250 N. 1800 Road.

Arriving crews reported heavy black smoke coming from around the doors of the 60x60ft building.

It took crews about 40 minutes to begin attacking the fire. There were apparent issues with a establishing a solid water supply and the gauges on one fire truck were said to be frozen.

Around 5 a.m. crews were ordered to evacuate the building and begin a defensive attack from the exterior as fire had began burning through the roof.

Crews reported the fire to be under control at 6:48 a.m..

The Kansas state fire marshal's office has been called in to investigate what caused the fire.

No injuries were reported.

Shane Batchelder, a Westar spokesman tells the Lawrence Journal-World, an official cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Batchelder said the fire did not spread beyond the building, which he said houses large equipment like bulldozers. Nothing involved in the production of energy at the plant was affected, Batchelder said.

Stay with Operation 100 News on this blog and on Twitter for the latest details as they become available. Remember where you heard this news first, Operation 100 News, reporting the news to the public as it breaks.

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Severe weather strikes Douglas & Johnson counties Sunday

Posted: May 7, 2012 - 5:50am

Update: May 7, 2012 - 6:07am

This morning, the National Weather Service says two tornadoes briefly touched down in Olathe on Sunday evening.

The first touchdown was reported at 6:10 p.m., near Kansas 7 Highway (K-7) and Santa Fe Street by a Trained Weather Spotter.

About 10 minutes later, another touchdown was, reported at 6:22 p.m., near Interstate 35 and United States Highway 169 (US-169) by Olathe Fire Department personnel. See the YouTube video at the bottom of this post for audio of this report.

Weather Spotters and Law Enforcement also reported rotation and lowering in the area of K-7 south of 119th Street and to the southwest of the K-7 and K-10 interchange. This lowering was not reported to have made contact with the ground.

No injuries or damage were reported directly related to the brief tornado touchdowns.

Severe Weather Reports to the National Weather Service

Hail was also reported just outside of Eudora and in Lawrence. Hail reports in Douglas County varied from Dime to Half Dollar in size. Minor damage was reported to a few vehicles in Douglas County as a result of the hail.

Several hundred were without power for times in both Douglas and Johnson Counties. Westar Energy reported nearly 600 Douglas County customers without power around 6:30 p.m..

Here is a rare glimpse behind the scenes of what was going on here at Operation 100 News as the second touchdown was being reported in Olathe. This recording includes audio from four scanners, with audio from Law Enforcement, Fire Department, and Weather Spotters. Some of the audio is difficult to understand as scanner volumes varied and the camera was closer to the Law Enforcement scanner than it was to the Spotter and Fire Department scanners. 

Click here to view video on YouTube.com

As always, Operation 100 News is the work of one person. Therefore I may not always be available to provide you with weather updates when severe weather is headed for your neighborhood. Please do not rely solely on one source for emergency weather information. A NOAA Weather Radio is a great option to have handy. More Information here

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Two alarm residential structure fire, Lawrence

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical crews were called to a structure fire at 1300 block of Tennessee Street, shortly after 6:10 Sunday morning. Upon arrival crews reported heavy fire involvement. Crews were able to make entry into the three story structure and search the first two floors to confirm that all occupants were out. Upon reaching the third floor, crews were confronted by heavy fire.

Just after 6:20 a.m. Fire Command requested a 2nd Alarm response to the scene to assist. Crews were ordered to evacuate the structure at 6:30 a.m. due to rapidly spreading fire in the attic area. All crews inside the structure safely evacuated and began fighting the fire defensively.

Scanner reports indicate that at least one neighboring structure has also been evacuated as a precaution.

Police and Fire crews say that all 10 occupants are accounted for at this time. One resident was treated on scene for minor smoke inhalation. No other injuries have been reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Check back with Operation 100 News on this blog and on Twitter for the latest updates and information as it becomes available.

Westar Energy warns customers to be on alert

Westar Energy is reminding their customers to be on alert for fraudulent callers claiming to be Westar Energy employees. Several customers have contacted Westar Energy's Customer Relations center after receiving suspicious calls.

In most cases, the caller claims to be a Westar Energy Customer Service Representative and attempts to gain credit card information or other personal information, claiming a check bounced or that there is a past-due bill. When questioned, the caller has provided a call-back number that belongs to an adult entertainment business.

Westar Energy says that legitimate calls should show 316-383-8600 and Westar Energy on caller ID. Customer Service agents should always be able to provide their name and extension if requested. Calls from Westar Energy requesting payment are never made the same day as the disconnection. The customer should always have the opportunity to call Westar Energy back and verify the information.

If you receive a call that is suspicious, Westar Energy says that you should hang up and call the Westar Energy Customer Relations Center at 1-800-383-1183 or report the call to local law enforcement.