Didcot B power station in Oxfordshire remains closed following a major blaze that broke out Sunday night. Operator, RWE Generation says the blaze started after a fire broke out in one of the two cooling tower modules of Didcot B power station, a 1.4GW gas fired power station (adjacent to the Didcot A coal-fired power station which closed in 2012).

The affected part of the power station was immediately and safely shut down, and all employees accounted for. No injuries were recorded to either the emergency services or RWE personnel.

Commenting on the incident, Adriano Lanzilotto, a client service manager at FM Global said a good number of cooling towers like the ones installed at large power stations represent a considerable and yet unappreciated fire hazard, due to the combustible nature of the plastic structure and/or filling. Typical ignition sources are hot work, electrical problems associated with motors and wiring or bearing problems on motors and fans, he said.

“FM Global’s best advice to prevent a loss is to avoid the use of combustible construction materials. If this isn’t possible, segregation of the cells and automatic fire protection would be recommended, “Lanzilotto advised. “Avoiding combustible construction is the best solution though, since retroactively providing automatic fire protection on existing units is difficult due to the technical challenges and costs involved. Adequate controls of ignition sources, such as electrical maintenance regimes and hot work restrictions, would also help reduce the likelihood of such events.”

In a statement, RWE Generation said the affected part of the site will remain non-operational until an investigation and repairs can take place, stressing that it is too early to estimate how long this will be.

“Continuous, reliable and sustainable availability of energy is at the core of everything we do, as it supports the general economy, individual businesses and our everyday lives,” Lanzilotto commented. “When a power generation plant is unable to operate due to a loss, the fundamental reputation that that company worked so hard to create is at stake, as is its share value.”

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