The Wolf Creek nuclear plant is repairing some of its backup power generation equipment after a small fire ignited at the Kansas facility on Monday.
The plant declared an alert at 1:36 p.m. and reported a fire in one of its emergency diesel generator transformers, according to a report filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The fire was put out within 15 minutes using a portable CO2 fire extinguisher. A subsequent walkdown confirmed the area was clear, and the unit continued to operate at full power. The alert was later terminated, and workers exposed to smoke were evaluated and cleared.
Wolf Creek Operating Corp. said that federal regulations will allow the reactor to remain online as long as the generator equipment is repaired within three days, the Wichita Eagle reported. The Westinghouse four-loop reactor is owned jointly by Westar Energy, Kansas City Power and Light and the Kansas Electric Power Cooperative. Its next refueling outage is scheduled for late February.