FIRE fighters had to be monitored for static electric shock after an incident at a Beresfield business overnight.
Just before midnight NSW Fire and Rescue crews from East Maitland and Tarro were called to a high voltage UPS fire.
"Crews were noticed early of a potential fire with the back to base automatic fire alarm activating and notifying the two closest fire stations," a statement from NSW Fire and Rescue said.
"People on site were able to direct the arriving crew to the computer room where the smoke detector had gone off."
The room was heavily smoke logged when crews arrived and firies put on breathing apparatus to enter the property. They discovered a high voltage UPS on fire and pumping out large volumes of black smoke. The fire attack crew used eight CO2 cylinders to extinguish the blaze and also cool the batteries, but it caused a static electric shock.
Once extinguished crews stayed on scene monitoring the atmosphere for toxic gases using a gas detector and also using a thermal imaging camera to ensure the batteries kept cooling down and did not reignite.
The site was handed over to the site representative.
NSW Ambulance paramedics were called to the fire ground to assess and give a medical checks, including ECG, to the initial fire attack crew who received static electricity shocks from using CO2 fire extinguishers on the fire.
