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Incinerator Reopens Save Email Print
Posted: 6:53 PM Jul 16, 2008
Last Updated: 8:58 PM Jul 16, 2008
Reporter: Mark Vaughn
Email Address: mark.vaughn@wjhg.com


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We now know the full extent of the fire damages at the Bay County Solid Waste-to-Fuel Facility, better known as the Incinerator.

The facility was the site of two fires within a three-month time span, the worst of which was in June.

After more than a month of repairs, the Incinerator is about to return to full-capacity.

It’s been 34-days since the last fire at the Incinerator, which started when a dump truck unloaded some smoldering trash.

That load of garbage proved to be expensive.

However, it turns out, the county's insurance is covering most of the repair costs.

After beginning the turn around of the Incinerator EnGen LLC., and the Solid Waste Incinerator has had some setbacks.

An early morning fire on March 25th caused $6,000 dollars in damage.

After the smoke cleared from the second fire on June 12th, the county was looking at much higher cost for repairs.

"You can see that with the holes in the roof, the siding that's off etc. There's a lot more work to be done. So, it's a multi million dollar event for sure," said Joe Tannehill Jr. of EnGen LLC.

The county's insurance, Lexington Insurance, is paying $3-million dollar for the damages.

The county is only paying a fraction of that amount, the $25,000 dollar policy deductible.

So far, Tannehill says they've spent $1.5 million to get the incinerator reopened.

However, he says the facility needs more work.

"We had good insurance with a good insurance carrier, and we will be able to make good on our promise to have the incinerator not only pay for itself, and its debt service next fiscal year, but also provide surplus to the county," Tennehill added.

Tennehill says the company has also learned from these two fires.

They're installing water cannons in the tipping room to combat future fires, as well as infrared cameras to detect hot spots in the trash hauled-in by trucks.

They're planning to train workers to fight fires, in full fire gear.

"When this is over in four to six months, we will have a plant that is in much better condition than it was before the fire,” Tennehill concluded.

The insurance company is also paying the county for the money it lost by not being able to sell during the closure.

The waste to energy facility will begin burning the county's solid waste next Monday.

Tannehill hopes all repairs will be completed in six months.

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Posted by: Jeff Location: Panama City on Jul 16, 2008 at 10:04 PM
Like the new airport, next time this thing catches fire, just let it burn. It's cheaper that way.

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