This article was updated Thursday, March 12 at 3:02 p.m. after staff, faculty and students received an email from GRCC Communications.
On Wednesday, March 11, at 6:21 p.m., students and staff were alerted via email that evening classes in Raleigh J Finkelstein (RJF) and Cook Hall were canceled after transformers outside RJF Hall caught fire. In addition, the College Park Plaza building was closed.
Although students were able to view a small fire and smoke from a classroom window in RJF, the email to students did not mention the fire or the resulting power outage.
The Collegiate reached out to the GRCC Police to inquire further.
James Hanafin, the GRCC Police evening dispatcher, said, “On the exterior of the building on the south side of RJF there’s a little cage there, and in there are our transformers. One of them started smoking, eventually caught fire, and then blew, and then another unit blew as well.”
Hanafin explained that the damage to the transformers resulted in a power outage that not only affected the respective buildings but also the music building, as well as a few ramps, which are all connected to the same feed line with RJF as the main source.
Hanafin said no one was injured when the transformers failed and explained that school administrators were meeting afterward to make a repair plan.
“So we shut down for the evening, and we got the meetings of minds right now, and we’re plotting our next course of action here and how we’re gonna remedy the situation, but that’s where we’re at right now,” Hanafin said.
Yoyo Rodriguez-Vargas, a reporter for the Collegiate, shared via text that he was in his Fundamentals of Public Speaking class on the third floor of RJF during the incident. “I was in class when this happened,” he stated. “Everyone was surprised and confused, and we got kind of worried when we saw smoke, but no fire alarm went off, so there wasn’t a fire in the building. Then we saw that it was a transformer.”
Rodriguez-Vargas said he believes there were a total of three transformers that exploded, but they did not all occur at the same time.
“I did not see the transformers blow up. I did hear when they did,” Rodriguez-Vargas stated. “There was one big one, and then after like 10 or 15 minutes…, I heard two other explosions. They weren’t as loud as the first one, but you could still hear them.”
Lillian Tomorsky, a GRCC student, 21, of Grand Rapids, was able to capture video footage of flames and smoke coming from one of the transformers.
The incident occurred right before the start of evening classes.
Rodriguez-Vargas stated, “The first explosion was around 5:40 p.m. … after all the explosions, we were told to evacuate at around 6:20 p.m.”
Rodriguez-Vargas confirmed that everyone stayed safe at the time of the explosions, “Yeah, everyone is okay. The only thing that happened was the electricity went out.”
GRCC officials sent out a follow-up email at 9:31 p.m. stating that, “GRCC buildings will reopen tomorrow, March 12, and class will resume as scheduled. Thank you for your patience this evening as we worked through this utility issue.”
The Collegiate contacted Lyndsie Post, GRCC’s Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, after the initial alert was sent, but did not receive a response.
GRCC Communications sent out an email on Thursday, March 12 at 12:15 p.m., further explaining the utility issue that occurred Wednesday night. The email confirmed a transformer outside of RJF Hall caught fire and the power shut down as a result, but that no one was injured.
Additionally, the email stated, “GRCC Facilities teams worked through the night with Consumers Energy to restore power and ensure buildings were safe and fully operational.”
