A small fire broke out at the Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory yesterday afternoon around 2:47 p.m., marking the second fire in less than a month at the laboratory. An internal a power supply for a vacuum pump short-circuited and caused the fire, according to the Ithaca Fire Department.

Firefighters entered the synchrotron lab ring from the entrance off of Tower Road and quickly encountered smoke. Upon reaching the power supply, the firefighters discovered it was on fire. They quickly extinguished the flames and de-energized the supply unit, according to Assistant Chief Daniel Tier III, the incident commander. The fire forced Cornell officials to temporarily close Tower Road yesterday afternoon.

The equipment was similar, but not exactly the same, as the equipment that caused the first fire on Sept. 16. According to Dave Rice, technical director of the laboratory, the damage was confined to a small area and was minimal. The accelerator was back in operation later in the day. Although the damage was preliminarily estimated to be $4,000, Rice said it would likely be less than that amount.

Both fires were caused by equipment that are around 30 years old, according to Rice. He said that the lab has ordered 50 replacements for the units. However, Rice said it will take months to change the units because of the large quantity of replacements and the need to conduct testing.

Rice said that the lab inspected the remaining power supplies last night, and a meeting will take place today to evaluate the best course of action to prevent future fires before the units are replaced.