Fire at Coal Power Plant Blamed on Equipment Failure

A fire at Muscatine (Iowa) Power and Water's (MP&W's) coal-fired power plant forced Unit 9 offline on August 30.

The plant-located along the Mississippi River just south of town-includes three units with a combined capacity of about 276 MW. Units 7 and 8 were reportedly unaffected and continue to be available for power production. Customers are not expected to experience any service interruptions as a result of the event.

In a statement, MP&W said the fire started at about 12:35 p.m. when an equipment failure "caused lubrication oil to overflow onto hot piping," resulting in what it called "a small fire."

Plant personnel initially fought the fire, but a 911 call requesting help was placed at 1:37 p.m. The Muscatine Fire Department (MFD) responded, with the Fruitland Fire Department also assisting. About 20 fire department personnel were said to have been involved in fighting the blaze.

According to a release issued by the MFD, "Containment of the fire was challenging due to the unique aspects of the equipment, but the fire was held in one area and did not spread." Three extinguishing agents were used to fight the fire, which was declared "under control" at approximately 3:13 p.m.

No injuries were reported, but one MP&W employee did exhibit symptoms of heat exhaustion. The individual was monitored by paramedics at the scene and recovered quickly.

Investigators are assessing the damage, which is not considered significant. However, Unit 9-the newest and largest unit (176 MW)-is expected to be offline for at least a few days. Unit 8, a 75-MW generator, had been placed in service prior to the event and remains online, with additional power being purchased from the grid, as needed.

-Aaron Larson, associate editor (@AaronL_Power, @POWERmagazine)

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