Friday 1 August 2014

Ferrybridge fire under control

The blaze at Ferrybridge coal power station was brought under control "as of this morning", according to the plant's owner SSE.

Thick clouds of smoke were visible yesterday after the fire began at around 2pm. Around 60 firefighters attended the scene.

SSE revealed the “serious fire” may have started in unit 4 of the plant, also affecting unit 3.

Neither of the affected units had been operating over the summer because of planned maintenance so had not been supplying power to the National Grid at the time of the incident.

In a sign of how serious the damage may be, the energy company doesn’t expect unit 4 to return to service this financial year, suggesting it will need months of repair work.

Unit 3 could be back at work before 1 November. SSE said it will investigate the full extent of damage in due course.

All persons remain accounted for with no injuries reported.