Minor fire reported at Davis-Besse

11/16/2011

OAK HARBOR, Ohio — A minor fire early Wednesday damaged an electrical panel for a sump pump at the idle Davis-Besse Nuclear Generating Station, the plant’s owner reported.

Jennifer Young, a spokesman for FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co., said the fire burnt itself out after about 15 minutes and was caused by an electrical arc resulting from a water leak above the electrical panel. The leak came from a valve on a water-supply line to offices at the plant, she said.

“It did not affect safety equipment,” the spokesman said.

According to a report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an alert was declared at Davis-Besse at 2:22 a.m. because of the fire, and the alert was terminated at 4:43 a.m.

The plant has been shut down since Oct. 1 for replacement of its reactor head, a shutdown during which hairline cracks have been found in the reactor building’s outer containment/protection structure. The cracks remain under investigation.