FFs Spend 'Long Night' Battling Stubborn PA Power Plant Blaze

A fire Sunday night on the upper floors of a turbine building at the Talen Energy‘s Martins Creek plant in Lower Mount Bethel Township kept fire crews from across the region busy into the early morning hours of Monday, authorities say.

No one was hurt although one person complained of chest pains, Lower Mount Bethel Township Sandts Eddy Fire Company Chief Jeff Larrison Sr. said.

The flames were on the roof and coming from a corner of the building early on, he said.

The fire is believed to have started when lubricating oil leaked from a turbine that runs at about 1,800 degrees, Larrison said. As the first firefighters approached the several-story building at 6605 Foul Rift Road they saw a flash and heard a loud bang, but a Talen spokeswoman said that was likely the impact of power being shut down.

The fire, which was about six stories up in the building, burned through the roof and required numerous ladder trucks as the blaze was fought from above and below, Larrison said. While the fire was quickly contained, it wasn’t out until about 5 a.m. due to hot spots on the roof, he added.

Initially, one employee couldn’t be found but they were located outside, Larrison said. Talen spokeswoman Taryne Williams said said everyone was accounted for.

The fire was reported at 9 p.m. and the plant was evacuated, Williams said in an email.

“Crews are working to assess the situation,” she said.

Firefighters remained at the plant until nearly 7:30 a.m., Larrison said. The facility is the older of two that Talen has within a quarter-mile off Belvidere-Martins Creek Highway.

“Our first concern is for the safety of the people who live and work near our plant and our employees,” Williams said in the email. “We are taking the necessary precautions. We will continue to monitor the situation and work with the proper authorities to ensure the safety of the public and to protect property at the site and nearby.”

The Lower Mount Bethel fire company trains at least once a year at the plant and was familiar with the building and associated risks, Larrison said.

“We know what the hazards are,” Larrison said.

Ladder trucks from across the region were brought in and the 125-foot ladder truck from Good Will Fire Company No. 1 in Trexlertown—which the company said is the tallest in northeast Pennsylvania—was able to reach just above the lip of the roof and help get the fire out, Larrison said. The truck was requested about 12:30 a.m. and remained until about 6 a.m., the company’s Facebook page says.

It was a ”long night” at the plant that once burned coal and was shut about 13 years ago after a fly ash spill a few years before that. The plant, which reopened several years ago, now burns natural gas and oil to make steam from water to drive the turbines in the power-making process, the company says, but not the sort of oil that started the fire, Larrison explained.

“Everybody did a great job and the fire was all contained,” he said.

In addition to Trexlertown, firefighters and equipment from Palmer Municipal Fire Department, Good Will Fire Company in Belvidere, Nazareth, Bangor, North Bangor, Mount Bethel, Portland and East Lawn assisted, Larrison said.

Talen is an offshoot of what once was PPL Electric Utilities’ power generation business.

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