Aug. 15--Smoke inhalation sent two construction workers to the hospital Wednesday after a blaze ignited at an Army lab under construction at Fort Detrick.
Just before 2 p.m. Wednesday, fire and rescue crews responded to a two-alarm fire at the new U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. The blaze was contained quickly, according to garrison spokeswoman Lanessa Hill, who said firefighters remained on the scene to clear smoke out of the building.
"They are going to be here all night long," Hill said of units on the scene Wednesday.
An hour after the blaze was reported, the road leading to the laboratory remained closed. In addition to Fort Detrick fire engines, fire and rescue crews from across the county responded.
The building -- scheduled to be completed in 2014 -- is the largest construction site on the Army post, said Clem Gaines, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers. Gaines said other construction workers were immediately evacuated.
"Safety is always our No. 1 consideration," he said.
The two construction workers injured were taken to Frederick Memorial Hospital for evaluation after they were treated at the scene, Hill said.
The extent of the damage to the lab was not yet known. It appeared that the fire occurred in a second-floor biosafety level 4 lab -- a lab being built to handle the most toxic agents.
The new building will also provide more than 800,000 square feet for the research group, including 17,000 square feet of biosafety level 4 lab space and 34,000 square feet of biosafety level 3 space, where researchers can work with other harmful agents such as anthrax.
The building is valued at $680 million. A damage estimate was not available Wednesday.
Hill said the fire is being investigated by the Army and the State Fire Marshal's Office.
Staff writer Courtney Mabeus contributed to this report.
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Copyright 2013 - The Frederick News-Post, Md.
