Hot Springs & Monterey, VA

Photo Yes, that is the rear end of a trailer sticking out of the hastily constructed building next to the power house in downtown Hot Springs. The front of the trailer sticks out of the other end of the building. In between is a portable boiler, brought in to supplement the boilers in the power plant after a malfunction and small fire on Dec. 9 disabled one of the boilers in the power plant. No one was injured and the incident did not cause any disruption of service at The Homestead, according to director of marketing Carol Stratford. "Options to replace or upgrade the boiler are currently being determined," Stratford said. Hot Springs Fire Chief Robbie Chestnut was on hand during the fire with two dozen department members and three pieces of equipment along with a crew and two trucks from the Falling Springs Fire Department. There was little they could do, said Chestnut, other than protect the rest of the power plant and the buildings downtown. The super hot boiler, full of steam and water, would have ruptured if cold water had been sprayed on it. The fire crews "saved everything around it," Chestnut said. That includes the smoke stack, according to Stratford. "The existing smoke stack will remain in place as regulated by the Virginia DEQ in our permit." (Recorder photo by Charles Garratt)