ATHENS, Ala. (AP) – A fire that began in a turbine building at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in north Alabama was extinguished by a Tennessee Valley Authority crew without any injuries, the utility said Monday.
The blaze, which started Saturday afternoon, occurred at the plant’s Unit 3 in the oil system of a water pump, according to a report from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Fire crews at the plant, located on the bank of the Tennessee River near Athens, didn’t need assistance from outside departments and there weren’t any reports of injuries.
While a federal report showed the fire began at 1:30 p.m. and was extinguished 30 minutes later, a TVA spokesman said that included time lags in reporting and the blaze was extinguished immediately.
The fire happened in a section of the building away from the nuclear reactor. When operating normally, heat from the nuclear reactor turns water into steam, which is then used to drive turbines that generate electricity.