APRIL 07, 2015
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
While working to remove debris on a demolition and
construction site, an excavator suddenly burst into flames in Syracuse, New
York, Monday afternoon.
According to a report from Syracuse.com, the machine’s
operator decided to stop working and exit the machine after noticing something
was wrong as he loaded concrete from a demolished hospital building onto
trucks. Moments after the man fled from the cab, flames engulfed the excavator.
Black smoke filled the jobsite as firefighters battled the
fire and at one point the boom from an explosion was heard in the area.
The blaze took 40 minutes to tame, some of which is seen in the video below.
The machine was destroyed in the fire. It was owned by The
Hayner Hoyt Corp., contracted by St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center to
demolish the building and convert the space to a parking lot.
A construction manager with the group said the fire was
triggered when the turbocharger in the machine’s engine malfunctioned and
“burst.” the turbocharger is a constant
source of heat, making it a prime source for igniting a mix of hydraulic fluid
and air.
Source: http://www.equipmentworld.com