Wind turbine fire at Pubnico Point wind farm, West Pubnico, Nova Scotia

A wind turbine caught fire on the evening of 15 March 2019 at the Pubnico Point wind farm, a 17-turbine wind farm located at the edge of West Pubnico, a community in Nova Scotia's Yarmouth County. The local fire department responded within minutes but could not approach the burning turbine because of its height, estimated at over 90 metres, and the continued rotation of the blades, which posed a falling debris risk. The turbine could not be shut down because the gearbox itself was on fire. Firefighters instead held a position several hundred metres away, monitored the situation, kept nearby residents back, and allowed the fire to burn itself out, which took about an hour once flammable materials were consumed. Only the frame of the turbine was left standing. No injuries were reported. The wind farm had been operating since the mid-2000s and this was reportedly its first such incident.

The fire could not be extinguished directly because of the turbine's height and the continued rotation of the blades, and the gearbox itself was ablaze, preventing shutdown; dry ground conditions were not a factor on this occasion but were noted as a potential aggravating risk in other seasons.

1. Turbine fires are difficult or impossible to fight directly from the ground once established, so response plans should focus on containment, exclusion zones and protecting bystanders rather than direct suppression.
2. Falling burning debris and blade rotation during a nacelle or gearbox fire present a significant hazard, requiring safe standoff distances for emergency responders and the public.
3. Fire risk assessments for turbines should account for seasonal ground conditions, since dry vegetation near a burning turbine could increase the risk of secondary wildfires.

globalnews.ca/news/5063717/west-pubnico-turbine-fire