retour autres accidents

Angleterre: Sunderland
UNE EOLIENNE PREND FEU
http://www.sunderlandtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1107&ArticleID=1295769

La ville de Sunderland a une population de 300.00 habitants elle se trouve sur la cote nord est de l'Angleterre.

Sunderland Echo 24/12/05

Une ÉNORME éolienne a brulé , une flamme massive été vue à des miles à travers Wearside.

La structure de 200 pieds faisant parti d'une usine éolienne de £2.3million construite en août à l'usine de Nissans, a brulé juste aprés 12h.30 hier.
Le feu a été si intense les trois pales en fibre de verre de 75 pieds se sont écrasées au loin et de la fumée noire épaisse pouvait être vue à des miles autour.

Près de 200 personnes ont composé le numéro d'urgence 999 pour alerter les équipes de secours pendant que les flammes engloutissaient la turbine.

Pour maintenir l'ordre l'A1231 et l'A19 ont été fermés pendant une heure et quart car il y avait un risque que des parties du mat metallique tombent sur cesautoroutes à grand trafic.
Les six turbines avaient été achetées d'occasion pour 1.1million de Livres, et avaient déjà déjà été utilisées dans une usine éolienne en Allemagne.
M. Graham Bagley, de Nissans, avait dit au jounal " l'Echo de Sunderland " en août qu'il n'était pas raisonnable de financier des machines neuves et avait affirmé que ces turbines étaient étaient en "excellent état".

Un porte-parole de Nissans a nié que ces turbines étaient dangereuses.

"c'est la même conception qui a été employée pour des éoliennes partout dans le monde et jusqu 'ici rien de semblable n'est arrivé.
"s'il y avait eu des soucis concernant ces turbines nous ne les aurions jamais achetées.
"nous prenons ceci très sérieusement et jusqu'à nous sachions ce qui a causé ce problème les six turbines seront arrêtées."
Il a dit que des ingénieurs de Vestas, le fabricant de ces turbines , étaient intervenus sur la turbine concernée après qu'un fuite d'huile ait été détectée jeudi.
"c'était la troisième turbine et la plus proche de nos " tests de suivi " a dit le porte-parole Les "ingénieurs la réparait hier matin et ils l'avait remis en marche quand le feu a commencé.
"dans la mesure où nous nous rendons compte c'était de l' huile qui a pris feu qui s'est communiqué aux pales.
"elles sont faites de fibre de verre et elles ont brûlé juqu'à l'axe de métal avant de tomber . Personne n'a été blessé.
"nous avons maintenant arrêté toutes les autres turbines et les ingénieurs effectuent des contrôles.
"nous présentons nos excuses pour tous les dérangements qui pu avoir lieu ."
Les deux les routes principales ont été rouvertes à 14 heures .
Un porte-parole des pomiers de Tyne and Wear a déclaré: "nous avions sept pompes à incendie de service en raison du risque de voir la structure tomber sur les routes A19 et l'A1231 qui ont été fermées par la police.

"la majorité de la structure est par la suite tombée loin de la route."
( traduction ventdubocage)

Going ... going ... gone with the wind

A HUGE wind turbine went up in smoke in a massive blaze seen for miles across Wearside.

The 200ft structure at the Nissan factory, part of a £2.3million wind farm built in August, burst into flames just after 12.30pm yesterday.
The fire was so fierce all three 75-ft long fibreglass blades eventually dropped off and thick black smoke could be seen for miles around.
Almost 200 people dialled 999 to alert emergency crews as flames engulfed the turbine.
Police closed both the A1231 and the A19 for an hour-and-a-quarter amid worries that parts of the metal tower could fall on to the busy roads.
The six turbines were bought second-hand at a cost of £1.1million, having been previously used on a wind farm in Germany.
Graham Bagley, from Nissan, told the Echo in August it did not make financial sense to buy new ones and claimed the turbines were in "excellent condition".
A spokesman for Nissan denied the turbines are unsafe.
"It is the same design that has been used in wind farms all over the world and as far as we're aware nothing like this has happened before," he said.
"If there had been any concerns about the turbines we would never have purchased them.
"We're taking this very seriously and until we know what has caused this all six turbines will be shut down."
He said engineers from Vestas, the company who manufactured the devices, had been working on the affected turbine since an oil leak was detected on Thursday.
"It was the third turbine and is the nearest one to our test track," the spokesman said.
"Engineers were repairing it yesterday morning and they had restarted it when the fire started.
"As far as we are aware it was oil that caught fire and the blades then burnt through.
"They are made of fibreglass and they burnt right down to the metal shaft before falling off. Nobody was hurt.
"We have now shut down all the other turbines and engineers are carrying out checks on all of them.
"We apologise for any inconvenience that may have been caused by this."
Both the main roads were reopened at 2pm.
A spokeswoman from Tyne and Wear Fire Service said: "We had seven fire engines in attendance and because of the risk of the structure falling onto the A19 police closed the road and the A1231.
"The majority of the structure eventually fell away from the road."

24 December 2005

http://www.industrywatch.com

Blazing Turbine 'Like a Catherine Wheel'

Source: The Journal - Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Publication date: 2005-12-24 By Daniel Thomson

A wind turbine powering a North-East car plant was left a twisted knot of blackened metal last night after a huge blaze which could be seen for miles around.
The fire at Nissan in Washington is thought to have been caused by a mechanical fault and was witnessed by hundreds of stunned motorists on the A19 as the turbine's carbon fibre rotor blades caught fire and broke off.
Last night, firefighters who tackled the blaze said they had received more than 200 calls while eyewitnesses claimed the turbine had looked like "a giant flaming Catherine wheel".
Car manufacturers Nissan last night said a full investigation into the cause of the fire had been launched, but no-one had been hurt in the accident, which left the multi-million pound turbine a charred and smouldering wreck.
Washington Fire officer Tony Brown said: "The fire was 55 metres above ground level, so it was quite difficult to deal with. When we arrived the blades had already caught fire and black smoke was billowing across the sky.
"There was a danger of the blades breaking off and we were concerned they could have flown off and hit a vehicle on the A19. They were 23 metres long and moving at some speed. They could not be stopped because the brake had been damaged by the fire, so we had to keep our distance and decided to close roads in the area.
"At this stage it appears to have been some sort of mechanical fault."
The turbine is one of six at the plant and they supply the plant with 5% of its annual electricity. The 750-acre site cost pounds 2m to build and was switched on last month.
A Nissan spokesman said: "The turbine which caught fire had been suffering from an oil leak and had been undergoing repairs earlier in the day. Engineers thought they had fixed the problem, but when they tested the turbine it caught fire.
"No-one was hurt, but a full investigation into the cause has been launched."
Jason Lloyd, 18, of Queen Street, Birtley, was on the bus when he saw the turbine burst into flames.
He said: "There was smoke coming out of one of the blades. Then the whole thing was just missing. There were just flames coming off it, but the top wasn't there any more."
A Nissan employee, who did not want to be named, said: "The blades spinning around on fire looked like a flaming Catherine wheel. You couldn't take your eyes off it."
Publication date: 2005-12-24

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