Harrisburg hit again, city equipment destroyed in fire

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Kendall Downing

HARRISBURG, Ill. - A city trying to rebuild from a devastating tornado gets hit again. But this time, it's not a tornado in Harrisburg. Instead, it's a fire.

Flames shot out of the city's sewage treatment plant Friday night. A side building caught fire, and lots of expensive city equipment burned.

Officials from the Harrisburg Fire Department and the Illinois Fire Marshal's office spent Monday trying to determine the cause of that fire, which isn't considered suspicious. But the loss could hit the $1 million mark.

"It's pretty overwhelming," said Kelly Hefner, Water and Sewer Superintendent.

For Hefner, this is a worst-case scenario.

"I've got a lot of expensive stuff in there," he said.

The fire roasted two service trucks. Melted plastic remains on a larger sewer jet truck, with according to the mayor, a pricetag of nearly $400,000. It's ruined too along with lawn mowers and other tools.

"It's a major setback," said Hefner.

Investigators pulled the two service trucks out of the garage Monday afternoon.

They think one of them might have sparked the blaze. One was hooked up to a battery charger Friday night.

"There are emergency programs for such catastrophies as this," said Eric Gregg, Harrisburg Mayor.

Mayor Gregg said he's been in touch with the governor's office, and the city's already contacted their insurance adjusters.

"Every time your feet hit the ground something new can come your way. Of course, we're very resilient here, and we will take this in stride," he said.

With damage scraping the $1 million mark, Gregg said this will hurt Harrisburg again but not stop them.

Officials are thankful that nobody was hurt in the fire.

The blaze did not affect the operations of the sewer plant. The mayor said officials in nearby Eldorado, Illinois have offered to lend the city some of their trucks for the time being.