Smoke from Town Hall roof leads to Sunday evening fire call

A fire call Sunday evening, December 20, at Front Royal’s Town Hall was the result of a malfunctioning boiler in an auxiliary room according to Warren County Emergency Services Fire Marshal Gerry Maiatico.

Contacted Monday, Maiatico said a call about smoke coming from a portion of the Town Hall roof was received at 7:53 p.m. Sunday. Units responded to discover the boiler room filled with smoke, which first responders helped Town crews clear from the building.

“Historically we see an increase in calls related to malfunctioning boilers this time of year,” Maiatico observed of the seasonal weather that leads to boilers being cranked back into action.

Town Hall was smoking Sunday night, but not burning as responders discovered a malfunctioning boiler. Royal Examiner File Photo

The County Fire Marshal said it was the second call related to the Town Hall boiler in 2020, adding, “We determined there was no further threat and turned the situation over to Town maintenance.”

We inquired on the boiler’s status with the Town Administrative Department and were connected to the Public Works Department where a phone message was left at an administrative assistant’s number early Monday afternoon. A short time later Town Director of Information Technology and Public Information Officer Todd Jones responded. He said that Town Public Works Maintenance staffer Glenn Williams had ordered a part for the boiler that was delivered Friday.

After the problem arose Sunday and the smoke was cleared from the basement auxiliary room, Williams installed the part in the wake of the Emergency Services response.

“It’s in good shape and working well right now,” Jones told Royal Examiner mid-afternoon Monday.