NEW HAVEN — A fire at Appalachian Electric Power’s (AEP) Mountaineer Plant sent an ominous looking black cloud over parts of the Bend Area late Wednesday afternoon.
According to Jeri Matheney, spokesperson for AEP, the fire occurred around 4:30 p.m. in an area of the plant that is shut down and being demolished. Matheney described this area as once being a carbon capture demonstration unit.
Reportedly, a demolition crew was working in the area when a 75-foot tall fiberglass tank caught on fire. Why or how the tank ignited is still being investigated. However, Matheney said the tank was empty, and therefore no hazardous chemicals were involved or released.
No one appeared to be hurt in the incident, though the fire sent heavy, black smoke into the air which Matheney said is common when fiberglass burns.
Because the fire started in an area of the plant that wasn’t being used, the fire will not affect daily operations.
AEP’s Mountaineer Plant has its own fire crew on site which helped extinguish the blaze along with firefighters from the Mason and New Haven fire departments.
Matheney said the plant has an emergency fire plan for situations such as the one that occurred Wednesday evening.
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