Fire contained at Arkansas nuclear plant
Dec 9, 2013, 5:28 PM
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (AP) – A transformer caught fire at a nuclear power plant in Arkansas on Monday, forcing utility officials to take one of two units at the facility offline.
The fire was in a non-nuclear portion of the Arkansas Nuclear One plant operated by Entergy Corp. No injuries were reported and there was no threat to public safety, the company said.
The London Volunteer Fire Department said the blaze was under control by midmorning Monday. Plant spokeswoman Donna Gregory said the fire was extinguished at 9:17 a.m.
Gregory said that, because of the fire, Unit Two was taken offline but that Unit One continues to generate power. She said the cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known, and also that it wasn’t known when the idled unit could be restarted.
Arkansas Nuclear One, located along the Arkansas River about 90 miles northwest of Little Rock, supplies 1,823 megawatts of power, which is the equivalent to about 30 percent of the total energy demand of Arkansas.
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