A HUGE fire ripped through a cooling tower at Didcot Power Station last night.

A dozen fire engines and 60 firefighters tackled the blaze at one of the cooling towers at the Didcot B site, which began at about 8.10pm.

The power station had to be shut down while the fire was brought under control.

Fire crews were initially concerned the fire could be close to explosives at the nearby Didcot A site, which is in the process of being demolished, but quickly ascertained there was no danger.

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RWE npower, which manages the site, said about 12 staff would have been on site at the time, and the station was evacuated.

Fire crews were due to be at the site all night having controlled the blaze, but not extinguished it, by about 10.30pm yesterday.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s chief fire officer Dave Etheridge said no firefighters had been injured in tackling the fire, which spread from the initial cooling tower to a second. Fire crews had managed to stop it spreading to the other 10 towers, Mr Etheridge said.

He added: “These types of fires are very complex and spread to areas that make it difficult to fight.

“There will be a detailed investigation once the fire is out, but we are not treating it as suspicious.

“We work really hard with all of the management team to make sure when we do get an event we have got plans we can exercise and a tried-and-tested tactical operational response.

Oxford Mail:

  • Chief fire officer Dave Etheridge

“It has worked extremely well.

“These fires are always tricky for us to fight. I am sure you can appreciate that water and electricity do not mix.

“It was a very serious fire and our crews have been working very hard in difficult conditions – it’s been very windy this evening.”

Aerial platforms were used to fight the fire from above and arcs of water could be seen from outside the site as the flames were doused.

  • From reader Georgina Miles

The police helicopter was at the scene to help fire crews target the fire, while on the ground police dogs were called in.

The alarm was initially raised by a resident at the nearby Great Western Park, who spotted smoke rising from one of the station’s cooling towers.

The scale of the fire soon became apparent and within about 15 minutes of the fire engines arriving, the station was shut down to allow water to be used to combat the blaze.

Oxford Mail:

  • Stephen Shadbolt's picture of firefighters takling the blaze

Police issued a warning for residents to close windows and doors due to the smoke, with a strong wind pushing it across the area, while security guards manned the gates of the station to turn away passers-by.

But some residents braved the windy night to witness the fire.

Stephen Shadbolt managed to get some dramatic images of the smaller towers ablaze.

He said: “I live on Great Western Park and I looked across at the power station and there was this bright light. I got my camera and zoomed in and realised one of the towers was alight.

“It burnt so fiercely that it spread to the next one.”

Martin Walker, 25, an accountancy worker, said: “It’s a bit of an inferno. I was in bed when I saw it was on the news so I thought I’d come down. There are so many cars on the road with people trying to get a look.”

Richard Allen, 31, was one of many residents trying to see the blaze through the fence. He said: “I live quite close, right opposite, and my mum rang and told me there was a fire.

“I thought I’d come down here to see if I could see anything.

“I wouldn’t normally be out at this time. I couldn’t believe how many cars there are.”

Scott Wilgrove, Mayor of Didcot, said: “I just really hope nobody’s hurt. That’s my first concern.”

A spokesman for the National Grid said: “We’re aware of the incident and in contact with the station operator RWE.

“There has been no immediate operational impact on the electricity system.”

A spokesman for RWE npower said the fact it was not cold and it was night-time meant demand was low, which helped the situation.

Didcot B power station is a natural gas power plant that was built between 1994 and 1997.

Didcot A was the coal and gas-fired power station that had its three iconic cooling towers demolished in July.


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