2 Equipment Fires Reported at Wisconsin Energy Plant

Fire crews were called to two fires over three days last week at the Xcel Energy plant on French Island in La Crosse, WI last week, local news organizations reported.

A fire was doused in a dust collector and connected ductwork at the Bainbridge Street plant last Tuesday evening, according to coverage by the La Crosse Tribune. Officials said the dust collection system sustained some minor damage due to smoke and flames. Workers were able to evacuate the facility without injury.

Another blaze broke out in a conveying system at the Xcel Energy plant on Thursday. 40 firefighters were dispatched to the site around 6 pm and remained on scene for nearly seven hours to put the fire out, an account by television news station WXOW said.

“We discovered a faulty conveyor belt that malfunctioned and started to overheat and created the smoke at the plant on both occasions this week. We thought the first issue was something came in on the belt, but after last night’s issue, we investigated further and determined it was the equipment,” the company said in a statement to WKBT.

The facility experienced some smoke and fire damage during the second blaze.

Xcel Energy operates a power generation plant with two generating units and resource recovery facility on French Island, information on the company’s website states. The site can produce 140 MW of power.