Fire at Gulf Power Plant Crist under control, Escambia County firefighter hospitalized

An Escambia County firefighter was hospitalized Saturday morning with a broken arm suffered while putting out a fire at Gulf Power's Plant Crist in Pensacola. 

Escambia County Fire Rescue responded to a fire in a coal silo on Plant Crist at 11999 Pate St. around 3:30 a.m. Saturday. By 5:51 a.m., the fire was deemed under control and by 6:18 a.m., it was completely out, according to Escambia County spokeswoman Hana Frenette. 

Frenette said the firefighter was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital as a non-emergency transport at 5:42 a.m.

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No one else was injured during the fire, which Gulf Power spokeswoman Sarah Gatewood said did not cause significant damage to the silo.

She added the fire was not expected to have any adverse effect on Gulf Power operations or its customers. 

"We do not yet know of a cause, but we'll be looking into that now that the fire is out," Gatewood said. "We're just grateful that the Escambia County Fire Department reacted swiftly and got the fire under control before any major harm could be done." 

Jake Newby can be reached at jnewby@pnj.com or 850-435-8538.