Pump fire at plant contained

Progress Energy says it is investigating what caused a boiler feed pump to catch fire.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published July 16, 2005

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CRYSTAL RIVER - No one was injured in a fire Friday morning inside a piece of machinery that feeds water into a boiler at the Progress Energy complex north of Crystal River.

Fire crews from Crystal River and Homosassa were called to the complex at 11:14 a.m., but the fire was out by the time they arrived, according to Progress Energy spokeswoman Carla Groleau.

Plant workers called Citrus fire officials as a precaution, she said. The plant stayed open, despite the fire, and no customers were affected.

The fire occurred in a piece of equipment called a boiler feed pump, which sends water into a boiler in one of the fossil fuel plants at the Progress Energy site.

A boiler feed pump is a common part of fossil plants, she said. In a fossil plant, water runs through pipes in a boiler. The boiler absorbs heat and converts the water to steam, which spins the blades of a turbine. The feed pump is used to carry the water into the boiler area, she said.

The fossil fuel plants, which burn coal, are located on the same site as a nuclear power plant. The nuclear plant was not affected by the fire, Groleau said.

It was unclear how the fire started, and there will be an internal investigation of the blaze, she said.

No plant workers are stationed near that piece of machinery, but Groleau said she was not sure if anyone was near the equipment at the time of the fire.

"This is not a common occurrence," she said.

Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 860-7312 or vansickle@sptimes.com