Electrical Problem Blamed for Mass. Pool Store Blaze

April 30--HYANNIS -- Fire officials believe a fire that caused about $500,000 worth of damage at a commercial building on Enterprise Road on Sunday afternoon was caused by an electrical problem.

The fire at The Swimming Pool and Spa Design, at 12 Enterprise Road behind the Cape Cod Mall, was reported by an employee at the store at about 4 p.m.

About a half-dozen fire departments responded to help put out the blaze, which resulted in large amounts of dark, black smoke coming from the building.

The fire caused about $250,000 in structural damage to the building and an additional $250,000 of damage to contents of the building, which belonged to the building's three commercial tenants, Hyannis Deputy Fire Chief Dean Melanson said.

The property owner, Brenner Levy Associates LLC of Wellesley, quickly brought in a hazardous materials cleanup company.

Hyannis fire officials, the Barnstable Health Department, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the state hazardous materials team met with the cleanup company at about 8 p.m. Sunday, Melanson said, adding that the state hazardous materials team already had been monitoring water runoff and air in the area.

Officials were able to identify the chemicals that were housed in the building because the owner of the pool business had a list as required by state law, Melanson said.

The cleanup company immediately set up operations and had removed about five 55-gallon drums worth of materials and completed its work by about midnight, he said. The majority of the different chemicals totaled less than a gallon each, he said.

A vacuum truck sucked up the remaining water in the building and on the property and tests showed that any water that reached the street had normal pH levels, Melanson said.

"The overwhelming majority of material with high pH (levels) was trapped on-site," he said.

Copyright 2013 - Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.