What happened to the Vuhlehirska Power Station?

On 29 March 2013 a fire broke out at the Vuhlehirska Power Station in Ukraine. The fire destroyed four of the seven power units at the plant. One person was tragically killed and a further eight injured.

The power plant had been in service since 1972 and provided power for hot water and heat to more than 12,000 homes.

How did the Vuhlehirska Power Station fire start?

The fire is believed to have started with an explosion from a coal dust cloud but the source of ignition is unknown.

Employees attempted to fight the fire for more than three hours before calling the emergency services.

What can the industry learn from the Vuhlehirska Power Station fire?

Factors that influenced the explosion included:

• Dust humidity, water content and moisture; the dust itself must be explosive to some degree, therefore the dust properties are a significant factor. This includes the surface type, particle size and density all affecting minimum ignition energy
• Distribution of the dust, turbulence and the atmosphere into which the dust is dispersed containing sufficient oxidant to support combustion. Therefore the ambient conditions are also a factor
• Ignition energy of the dust cloud; the cloud is required to be in contact with an ignition source of sufficient energy
• The speed of the reaction/explosion; low explosion speeds can also cause significant damage if high pressures are left to develop
• The presence of flammable gas; turbulent and dispersed dust increases if added with concentrations of flammable gas providing a hybrid mixture