Government/Military, Military Facility Natick, MA – Electrical fire at research center contained by sprinkler system February 20, 2019 viking210 A two-alarm electrical fire broke out last Tuesday evening at Natick Labs, a U.S. Army research center, resulting in heavy smoke but no serious injuries, said Natick Deputy Fire Chief Daniel Mathews. Firefighters responded to General Greene Avenue around 5 p.m. to find the building’s sprinkler system had put out most of the fire and contained it to one room, but still had to contend with smoke spreading through the large facility, Mathews said. “Because of the size of the building and the amount of smoke, it took a lot of manpower,” he said. Mathews said the fire was started by electrical components in the building, although the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation. Many of the people who work in the building headed home before 5 p.m. because of the snow, Mathews said, so the labs were mostly empty and no one was seriously injured. Security personnel were evaluated for smoke inhalation as a precaution.
