By Cassandra Day
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
MIDDLETOWN, CT —
There were no injuries from an early-morning fire in a wall at Kleen Energy Tuesday that saw crews fighting the blaze in challenging conditions amid high heat and humidity.
South Fire District firefighters were called to the 1349 River Road plant at approximately 5:30 a.m. on the report of smoke coming from a fire in the wall near an exhaust turbine, according to Chief Michael Howley.
The blaze, in the area of the exhaust where it feeds into the heat recovery unit, took several hours to knock down, he said.
Immediately, officials called in extra mutual aid from nearby towns because of weather conditions, so the chief could rotate crews to prevent heat exhaustion and other dangers.
“It was a long, labor-intensive operation,” said Howley, who added the blaze didn’t affect natural gas lines or cause other safety concerns.
“It was a difficult fire to get at, because it was in between steel siding on the interior and exterior. It just took manpower and a lot of equipment to get that all opened up and get that under control.”
By 8:30 a.m., the scene was under control and the majority of fire stations (Middletown, Haddam, Cromwell, Middlefield and Westfield companies) were returned to their posts, the chief said.
In November, a diesel leak in a turbine there touched off a minor fire in a generator.
The generator had experienced a small diesel fuel leak earlier in the day during an annual fuel changeover in the engine.
Kleen Energy was the site of a deadly natural gas explosion Feb. 7, 2010, while the facility was still under construction. The blast killed six people and injured as many as 60 others.
The fire marshal is investigating the cause of Monday’s blaze with the help of state fire officials.