January 22, 2025

By Matt Sottile

The collapse of an entire section of the Wilbraham Power Plant on Tuesday morning sent hundreds of gallons into the Chicopee River.

Wilbraham fire chief Michael Andrews said, “There’s significant damage. We’ll need to bring in engineers to assess the building to see what will happen going forward.”

Emergency crews were called to Wilbraham’s Red Bridge Hydropower Plant on Tuesday.

Andrews said, “It is a company which generates electricity and it’s on site assessing damage.”

Officials believe that a significant part of the building collapsed and caused a small fire. A passerby noticed smoke rising from the building’s roof around 9 am. The building collapsed in the middle, but no one inside was hurt.

No injuries were reported. Andrews said that no one was inside the building when it collapsed.

State officials, however, said that the oil spilled between 18 and 80 gallons near the Wilbraham/Ludlow Town Line, which flows directly into the Chicopee River.

Andrews said that the DEP was on the scene and that they were actively placing booms into the water to contain the situation. DEP has also hired a contractor to remove the debris in the waters.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and Eversource, along with Wilbraham Police and Fire, Ludlow Fire, the Town’s Department of Public Works and the Massachusetts Department of Public Works were on the scene trying to determine what had happened.

They are regulated. Right now, I do not know when the most recent inspection took place or even what the exact cause was. Andrews stated that the inspection will need to take place at a later date.

The state DEP has been contacted for further information about the oil spill. Andrews stated that there was no danger to public health, but warned people to avoid the area if they see sheens of oil in the water.

Investigations continue into the roof collapse.

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