MILFORD, PA — A fire that began near midnight on August 8 at the Milford Compressor Station is being investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police as a suspected arson. The fire resulted in an estimated $80,000 in damage to a turbine motor skid, but no one was injured.

The construction of the large compressor, owned by Columbia Pipeline Group, has been actively opposed by residents in the area and also by the group, Stop the Milford Compressor Station.

Alex Lotorto, a local resident and activist with Energy Justice Network, issued a statement questioning whether the incident was an accident rather than arson. Lotorto said, “Columbia’s security personnel told concerned residents on Fire Tower Road that the fire was the result of a contractor leaving an arc welder on or plugged in inside a building. We hope investigators will pursue that lead before concluding it was an arson attack.

“It is plausible, at the end of the workday Saturday, in a hurry or a lapse of judgment, the workers did not shut the equipment down properly. Workers at that site have been working from dawn to dusk most days since the wintertime, and it is possible exhaustion has numbed their awareness of workplace safety. If it is determined that exhaustion contributed to this incident, Columbia and its contractors should, at the very least, offer workers more paid time off.”

Officials are asking that anyone with information about the incident to call state police at Blooming Grove barracks at 570/226-5718 or the Dunsmore Fire Marshall Unit at 570/963-4323.