AceBreakingNews – UPDATE – Investigations are underway into the cause of a fire that damages a wind turbine in Portland, southwest Victoria.
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Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Jul.02: 2024: ABC AU News Report: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/YouMeUs2
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On Friday, Fire Rescue Victoria crews were called to Cape Nelson Road in Portland just before 8pm following reports a wind turbine was believed to be on fire.
Firefighters reported the blaze was right at the top of the turbine, and one blade had fallen off.
Fire Rescue Victoria commander Greg Kinross told the ABC it was the first wind turbine fire in the local area since the wind farms started being constructed 20 years ago.
He said due to the infrequency of these types of blazes, wind turbines did not pose an excessive fire risk.
“[Wind turbine fires] are no more risky than other structure fire that may occur at this stage in the in country area of Victoria,” he said.
Attempts to control the blaze were considered ineffective and the fire was allowed to continue to burn and self-extinguish overnight while a crew remained on scene.
The fire was deemed under control just after 11pm.
The following morning, on Saturday, a CFA tanker was called to extinguish a small grass fire.
‘Complex’ scene
The State Fire Investigation Unit visited the scene and will oversee an investigation into the fire.
Energy Safe Victoria and Worksafe also attended the scene.
A Fire Rescue Victoria spokesperson said the investigation was expected to take a number of weeks “due to the complexity of the scene and the necessity to ensure the safety of investigators”.
A spokesperson for Pacific Blue, the company that owns the wind farm, confirmed in a statement there was a fire at its Cape Nelson South Wind Farm.
“As a result of this incident, emergency protocols were activated to ensure the safety of people and to secure the site,” the spokesperson said.
“As per safety protocols, the site has been secured and power to the affected turbine has been isolated to ensure safety of personnel and surrounding environment.”
No one was injured during the fire.
The Country Fire Authority has been approached for comment.
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