Wind turbine fire at Kingsbridge 1 Wind Farm near Goderich

What happened

A fire broke out in the nacelle of a wind turbine at the Kingsbridge 1 Wind Farm, two concessions north of Goderich in Ontario, Canada. The fire was spotted around 6:30 a.m. Thick black smoke came from the top of the turbine. The main fire in the nacelle was out by 9 a.m., but flames continued down one blade. Local fire crews stayed on scene for much of the day to watch for falling material that might start a ground fire.

The site is a 22-turbine wind farm operated by Capital Power and constructed in 2006. The fire was contained to the single turbine and no one was injured. A similar nacelle fire was reported at the same wind farm in 2013.

Contributing factors

The fire was nearly 100 metres above the ground, so firefighters could not reach it and could only monitor from below. The source says it appears the turbine had a fire suppression system and that the fire burned itself out; the cause had not been established. Extreme dry conditions and a local burn ban raised concern about ground ignition, but crops were not in the fields.

Lessons learned

1. A nacelle fire high above the ground may have to burn out if crews cannot reach it, so ground monitoring for falling debris remains essential.
2. Operators should confirm whether nacelle suppression is fitted and how it performed, rather than assume it stopped the fire.
3. Dry conditions around a turbine fire increase the need to keep a watch for secondary ground fires.

Source

ctvnews.ca