Early yesterday morning, an electrical transformer device erupted in flames at the Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory, which houses a particle physics accelerator. Ithaca firefighters responded to the fire alarm at 12:47 a.m., at first with only two fire engines, but because of the severity of the smoke, a third engine was dispatched. The cause of the fire appears to be accidental, but it is still under investigation, according to the IFD.

Dave Rice, the technical director of the laboratory, said that the fire caused minimal damage to the facility.

He said that the value of the approximately 20-year-old electrical unit damaged was $300, though the Ithaca Fire Department estimated that there was between five and ten thousand dollars worth of total damage.

Nobody was actively using the facility when the fire started and the incident did not disrupt any research, Rice said. He added that the IFD “did a superb job” responding to the fire.

All twelve of the on-duty Ithaca firefighters and their equipment responded to the laboratory early yesterday morning. However, as the smoke spread throughout the underground facility, several more smoke alarms were set off. Assistant Fire Chief Guy J. Van Benschoten ordered a second alarm, summoning another engine to the scene and recalling off-duty Ithaca firefighters to duty.

The firefighters used dry powder extinguisher to knock down the flames. The Synchrotron Control Room operator was then able to turn the HVAC system back on to evacuate the smoke from the underground ring. Firefighters were on the scene for nearly two and a half hours.

Over the past 15 years, Rice said that several electrical units at the facility had caught fire and they were in the process of being replaced.

The laboratory features one of only 10 particle physics accelerators in the world, according to the University. It is the only laboratory of its kind on a university campus in the United States.