May 8 fire caused $100,000 damage
Friday, May 16, 2003
BY JAN MURPHY Of The Patriot-News
Workers at the state Department of Labor and Industry can no longer make toast at their desk.
After last week's toaster fire that damaged two floors in the department's headquarters at Seventh and Forster streets, an edict went out earlier this week ordering small appliances, such as toasters and coffee pots, to be used in common areas only, said department spokesman Troy Thompson.
Also, it orders all appliances to be unplugged at the end of the work day, and spot checks will be performed by managers, he said.
Before the May 8 fire that started in an employee's office cubicle in the building at Seventh and Forster streets in Harrisburg, the only policy the department had governing small appliances related to the use of space heaters, department officials said.
The fire was believed to have started when a covered toaster in a cubicle was activated by an object that fell from the wall, causing the cover and papers on top of it to ignite, officials said.
Frank Kane, spokesman for the Department of General Services, which manages state property, said there has been no policy on the use of small appliances in state office buildings, but that will soon change after a new deputy secretary for property management starts to work Monday.
"That is the first thing he'll take a look at, examining what our policy is going to be," Kane said.
Thompson wouldn't comment on the discipline faced by the owner of the toaster that started the fire, triggering the sprinkler system to activate and causing what some estimate to be $100,000 damage.
The fire also forced many of the roughly 180 employees who work on the affected floors to take a paid day off.
"Any type of personnel issue is confidential," Thompson said. "That's always the case."