One of them jumped down and was found in a field next to the turbine. Both were 80 meters above ground, doing routine maintenance only for the fire to trap and chase them in the end. Mrs. Krcmar is an active member of the AWEA Wind Environmental, Health, and Safety Standards Committee Meeting, member of the NFPA 855 Committee for Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems and contributing member of the UL 6141 technical standards panel. View a photo, posted on the Weather Channel.) Heres how to reduce that, Selecting the right remote operations partner for your wind portfolio. Africa If you opt in for feed in tariff, there are different ways through which you can make money with solar energy. What are the statistics of spray fires in/on wind turbine machines? Finland Huaneng has not officially released information on the accident. Aim for the bushes but seriously, I think I might have climbed out on the blade and hoped for the fire to die down. Solar shingles are a comparatively new kind of solar panel which is designed to look like normal roofing shingles. The tragedy occurred at Deltawind's Piet de Wit wind farm in the Netherlands, but highlights the hazards associated with fires caused by wind turbines. Saturday's Fido Fest in Santee is also rescheduled, "I requested a meeting with Attorney General Rob Bonta", Webcams in East County & San Diego's Eastern Region. That includes $34.5 million in turbine repairs at the Kumeyaay Wind Farm in on the Campo Indian reservation locally. The 356 GE turbine-powered wind farm spans two counties in Oklahoma andis considered to be one of the worlds largest wind farms. Montana District of Columbia She was injured on the job when she got her hand caught between the yaw pinion and the yaw gear of the wind turbine. Wind turbines are installed on windy sites to produce renewable energy. RELATED: Unique study: birds avoid wind turbine blades Vattenfall.com | Mattias Dahlstrm | 28 FEBRUARY 2023 Seabirds deliberately avoid wind turbine rotor blades offshore - that is the main finding of a new study that mapped the flightpaths of thousands of birds around wind turbines in the North Sea. Nigeria Prince Edward Island Only then will serious people be able to sit down with each other and understand that it's not always about money, but about right things done rightly. She Wind turbines can be used for a variety of purposes, including generating power for homes, businesses, and industrial facilities. Ecuador Sending a team up the tower to manually fight the fire constitutes a significant health and safety risk. A large fire broke out at a fuel storage depot in Indonesia's capital on Friday . Doppler radar indicated there was plenty of lightning around the Traverse wind facility before the turbine caught fire, but officials have not confirmed if lightning played a role in the incident. A spokesperson for the Public Service Company of Oklahoma said the site has been secured, and there were no injuries. Northern Ireland That's the only way to get from competitive positions to common ground and to design the kind of infrastructure that meets our demand for power and a quality environment. One of them jumped down and was found in a field next to the turbine. Even assuming an average of one fire per 2,000 turbines per year, based on incomplete reporting of fire incidents, a wind farm can expect to face one to two fires over the course of its operational lifetime. Latvia Nearly 120 wind turbines catch fire each year, according to a research - ten times the number reported by the industry. Video shows the wind turbine on fire while a large plume of black smoke fills the sky in Hull, England . General News Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail. Fires in wind turbines are the second leading cause of accidents after blade failure and are ahead of structural failure. Rhode Island The unintended consequences of a fire incident in a wind turbine can have far reaching operational, safety and health risks. A witness told ECM that he saw a blue flash that radiated out through the wind farm during a storm in December 2009 before the project went dark. Iberdrola also has an agreement to purchase at least half of its turbines through 2022 from Gamesa, another company with a track record of turbine fires, as ECM previously reported. I thought about trying to slide down the blades as best you could to shorten the fall but then found out there's pretty gnarly teeth towards the end of the blade. Mississippi The wind turbine fire Google alert had enabled this to be a hot topic, especially for Vestas. However fires at plants with more recent installations make clear that fire and safety issues have still not been adequately addressed. Would like to see some details of the total number of turbine fires world wide over time. Saint Lucia A massive wind turbine at one of the countrys largest wind farms is no more, thanks to the impacts of a strong thunderstorm that moved through central Oklahoma on Tuesday. According to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the average wind turbine hub height has grown from 20 m to 88 m since the 1980s in order to access higher wind speeds. An oil spill in 2018 caused a fire that killed five people and sickened hundreds in the port city of Balikpapan. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Press J to jump to the feed. Antigua and Barbuda The fire quickly engulfed the only escape route (the stairs in the shaft), trapping two of the maintenance crew on top of the turbine. Bulgaria Moving blades don't deter them either: videos show a turkey vulture perched on the hub of a spinning turbine, and a griffon vulture being struck. Isle of Man Doppler radar indicated there were plenty of lightning strikes. Any loss or downtime of these valuable assets makes the industry less viable and productive.Fires are a problem for the industry, impacting on energy production, economic output and emitting toxic fumes, this could cast a shadow over the industrys green credentials. South Dakota Worlds First Typhoon Turbines Developed in Japan, Instead of Spinning, the Wings of these Wind Turbines are Flapping, Trees Producing Electricity Using Wind Turbines, Low Winds? 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Denver fire department received 78 calls in two hours amid flood, Louisiana pastor turns church into hurricane safe haven, Ross Fork Fire prompts evacuations on Idaho reservation, is considered to be one of the worlds largest wind farms. The camera operator infuriatingly misses the part where the propellor goes flying off, but there's still some excellent smoke vortex action. Copyright 2023 WTWH Media LLC. North Dakota However, to date, the industry has underestimated the risk and cost of wind turbine fires. First responders arrived at the Traverse Wind Energy Center around 4:30 p.m. to find one of the turbines on fire. Thanks for contacting us. One victim was found on the ground beside the wind turbine; the other body was recovered by the specialized team. All 75 blades on all 25 turbines were replaced and the facility was offline for three months. In renewable energy, however, the energy sources are abundant and available in various locations. Link with more pictures and video here (in dutch): http://www.nieuws.nl/algemeen/20131030/Brand-windmolen-Verlies-collegas-hartverscheurend. Horizontal-axis turbines are the most common type and work by using the wind to turn a blade around a hub. Texas wind turbine catches fire after lightning strike A wind turbine has been destroyed by flames after a lightning strike in Crowell, Texas. Privacy Policy. The poor bat has been featured in so many . Korea When an electrical fault produces an arc flash or sparks, surrounding plastics in the electrical cabinet can quickly ignite other sources resulting in total loss of a nacelle. Neighbors react after wind turbine collapses near Paxton February 18, 2023 Illinois. Lethal wind turbine accident in the . Since many sites are situated at least 45 minutes from shore, in the event of a fire, an emergency response team is unlikely to arrive in time to prevent significant and irreparable damage. Hawaii "We will not say the turbine is flawless, but there must be other reasons," said CSR. Guam Dramatic footage shows Hull wind turbine on fire - YouTube 0:00 / 0:45 Dramatic footage shows Hull wind turbine on fire The Independent 555K subscribers Subscribe 44K views 5 months. The turbine was a 1.75 megawatt Vestas V-66. Iowa No damage to the cabinets after fire suppression. Germany Birds perceive areas traveled by spinning blades as open space, unaware that blade tips are moving at up to 180 mph. The utility company did not report any other damage to the facility from the storms. 20M views 6 years ago Nearly 120 wind turbines catch fire each year, according to a research - ten times the number reported by the industry. Asia Paw Paw firefighter killed in winter storm 'gave his life for free'. Ireland Gamesa blades suffered from design and manufacturing defects, the suits allege, Recharge News has reported. South Carolina While preventative technology such as arc flash detection and condition monitoring systems can reduce the risk of a fire, only suppression systems can put a fire out once it has started. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. A wind turbine on fire in east Hull has been captured on camera. (View court documents). Once a turbines capacity exceeds 3 MW, the cost of fire suppression to protect all three risk areas is outweighed by the cost of replacing that turbine. Authorities said it came from a broken pipe that Pertamina was using to transfer .
Maybe they'll come up with some kind of emergency zipline or repelling system that doesn't add significantly to the cost of the turbine. Czech Republic The fire quickly engulfed the only escape route (the stairs in the shaft), trapping two of the maintenance crew on top of the turbine. We've received your submission. Americas However, this height also means the nacelle is often out-of-range for ground-based firefighting. New York ; 2 min.) This video highlights the basic principles at work in wind turbines and illustrates how the various components work to capture and convert wind energy to electricity. By Angela Krcmar, Global Sales Manager, Wind, Firetrace International. Letters The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us, Wind Spotlight: RAD Torque debuts its latest battery-powered torque wrench, an average of one fire per 2,000 turbines per year, https://www.windpowerengineering.com/meetourteam/, AI: Wind energys paragon and net-zeros protagonist, February 2023 Issue: We Can Better Maximize the Potential of Wind Portfolios, Cranes cost 50% of wind turbine maintenance expenses. Transformers, located in the nacelle or at the base of a turbine, are the second most-common ignition point for wind turbine fires. Brent Havins, a field engineer, was . In conventional (fuel based) energy production, the fuel required to produce energy is transported to a contained, and controlled environment (like a Power Plant). 57 min.) In particular for wind energy, these locations of are generally, difficult terrains and remote locations.The wind energy industrys unique nature can aggravate risks and may even increase their probability and severity as compared to conventional energy production. Vestas has been plagued by wind turbine fires in the past. That includes $34.5 million in turbine repairs at the Kumeyaay Wind Farm in on the Campo Indian reservation locally. Every big corporate is claiming to have gone 100 percent green but some say it's just a feel-good scam. Our data has only 15 of these (<19%). function onCatChange() { They work by turning a blade on a shaft, which rotates the turbine blades. http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/10644. If the wind industry is to thrive in the coming years, it must take action to manage and protect against fire incidents. } In recent years, China has seen many cases of wind turbines catching fire, as more and more wind farms go into operation. ; 9 videos) Shadow Flicker in Kingston, Massachusetts (4 videos) Shadow Flicker (Dashwood, Huron Co., Ont. The researchers claim that out of 200,000. Entire turbine destroyed.
Netherlands Denmark Saskatchewan To make things worse, winds will also pick up today, likely exceeding 40 mph at times. Romania Australia Perhaps you should be advocating that the wind industry must have a well-trained and well-monitored workforce, so that unnecessary events like the one described become less likely to occur. Then in April 2013, a Vestas V-80 wind turbine in Ontario, Canada, burst into flames. Argentina A fire can spread down the tower to land surrounding the project if not carefully managed. As part of its noncommercial effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe fair use as provided for in section 107 of U.S. eastcountymagazine.org ~~.
By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Assuming an average wind turbine costs $1 million per megawatt of generating capacity, offshore wind turbines ranging from 3 to 10 MW can cost up to $10 million, which would need to be paid up-front if out of warranty.
Then in April 2013, a Vestas V-80 wind turbine in Ontario, Canada, burst into flames. This video sample gives a glimpse of a probable incident that may lead to disaster.Know more: https://www.ask-ehs.com/Follow us facebook https://www.facebook.com/AskEhsConsultantsFollow us linkedIn -https://www.linkedin.com/company/ask-ehs-engineering-consultants-pvt-ltd Indeed, the state plans to transition to 100% renewable . The federal and State governments have, with our tax dollars,mobilized their formidableresources behind a massive, single-mindedeffort to pave-over vast tracts of open wildlands with expensive, inefficient, land-destroying, flora and fauna killing, wind and solar farms. The fire fighters found a body at the second platform of the wind tower, who had died as a result of head injuries. And thats just Vestas. Aruba Is putting hundreds of lightning rods up across fire-prone East County, where some storms have caused over a thousand lightning strikes in a single weekend, really a good idea? But how did that incident trigger the underrated statistics? Additionally, once a fire starts, the project must be shut down and taken off grid for a period of time as a safety precaution, resulting in lost revenue. Editorials Smoldering fires should be detected with smoke aspiration systems and suppression should start before a fire lits up. It would be hard to quickly escape an unexpected fire from nearby wind turbines, power lines or substations in areas like McCain Valley or the Pacific Crest Trail, for instance, not to mention our wilderness areas. Newfoundland and Labrador San Diego Supervisor Dianne Jacob has voiced grave concerns over fire dangers posed by wind turbines in our backcountry, but other Supervisors ignored the fire risks, pushing through approve of the Tule Wind project as well as a County wind ordinance that opens up more rural areas for wind energy development. Browse the most current issue of Windpower Engineering & Development and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. I guess almost all the off shore wind turbines are gearless technology and do not have gearbox. Two maintenance personnel were in the nacelle eliminating frequency converter faults. CUSTER COUNTY, Okla. - A massive wind turbine at one of the country's largest wind farms is no more, thanks to the impacts of a strong thunderstorm that moved through central Oklahoma on Tuesday. Costa Rica MIT researchers revealed that light solar cells can be the future of renewables with its superior solar power-weight performance. Nov. 24, 2013 -- Talk about bad press. Getting there and still being alive after you meet the ground is hard. I Am Latina, But LeBaron Does Not Represent Me! Gamesa turbines have also been linked to two turbine fires in Pennsylvania, including Iberdrolas Locust Ridge project in 2009 and another fire at North Allegheny Ridge (not owned by Iberdrola) in 2012. There is hardly any incident of fire in gearless wind turbine. California China The accident took place in the Second Zhurihe Wind Farm, Tongliao city, north Chinas Inner Mongolia. if ( dropdown.options[dropdown.selectedIndex].value > 0 ) { We are simply too far away from the next best idea in energy to do without renewable energy sources that provide the kind of power demand necessary for human persistence on the planet. Vietnam Two other mechanics escaped safely. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but Deltawind has suggested a short circuit could be the cause. Does anyone know who took the first picture on this page of the flames and burning Turbine? Tragic news out of the Netherlands as a wind turbine fire has claimed the lives of two workers. On May 22, 2012, a Gamesa turbine caught fire at Iberdrolas Barton 2 Wind Power Project in Iowa, North American Windpower reported. This happened on 29 of October in the Netherlands (in Ooltgensplaat to be more precise). These hazards include: A wind turbine is an energy-producing machine that uses the force of the wind to turn a rotor. View a photo, posted on the Weather Channel.) Moreover, Boulevards fire station has been closed most days over the past three months. The West End Fire & Rescue service, which said nobody was hurt, posted a video of the incident of crews supervising the fire as it burnt itself out. I won't defend those companies and municipalities thatdon't maintain things they make money off of in a way that keeps them safe and reliable, but asan educatorwho does know better, to openly take the position that turbines are inherently dangerous is faulty logic. Buy It Now Magnetic Wrist Band for Holding Screw Nail Drill Bits, Buy It Now Multi-function Induction Flashlight, An Italian Restaurateur Learns How to Weld and Goes on to Build an Amusement Park on His Own, Buy It Now Magnetic Levitating Light Bulb, Hire Elite Freelance Developers. by Wu Qi. The incident occurred at a wind farm in the country, causing the turbine to malfunction and ultimately catch fire. The wind industry has long claimed that wind turbine fires are rare. One victim was found on the ground beside the wind turbine; the other body was recovered by the specialized team. Since the fire fighting apparatus could not reach the hub height of 80-metres, the fire fighters failed to control the fire. Still a fire protection system can be made mandatory. Facebook Journalism Project covid-19 reporting, , testified to San Diegos Planning Commission, http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/10644. Lithuania This article is the work of the source indicated. 26, 2022 at 1:18 PM PDT. The cause of the fire is unknown, but is believed to be a short circuit. What is actually flammable on that thing? Arizona Getting there is easy. The American Red Cross was called to assist six adults and six children Friday night after a stack of pallets caught fire and spread to nearby structures, according to the Jacksonville Fire and . Hence, it makes sense to identify such hazards and take necessary control measures to mitigate these risks. U.K. Powered by the wind, turbines are an environmentally friendly way to produce electricity. Opinions Lesotho Georgia Troublingly, these turbines are being sold by secondhand dealers online to buyers who may have no knowledge about the potential fire hazard. Offshore wind power is a political issue in New Jersey because of the state's commitment to adding more green energy to its power mix. Kenya Wyoming If you would like to contribute to Windpower, please contact us: https://www.windpowerengineering.com/meetourteam/. SOURCES Transformers convert energy into the appropriate voltage for the electrical grid, and as with converter and capacitor cabinets, sparks and arc flashes due to electrical faults can lead to a fire. Norway Utah Since then, all misfortunes related to wind turbines have been uncovered. The ground-based fire fighting apparatuses are helpless to fire burning in the engine room, because they cannot reach the height. I assume a majority of the cause and fuel for fire in these is internal. Funeral services will follow at 12:30 a.m. Especially the 3 most likely areas of ignition. Oceania Virginia Energy company confirms wind turbine collapses near Paxton February 17, 2023 . and our The company blamed a 2011 wind turbine fire on a brake problem. A wind turbine is a device that converts wind into mechanical power. Turkey CSR said the cause of the accident was unclear and that it was investigating the accident with Huaneng and the local safe production regulators. The turbine involved was a 1.75 megawatt Vestas V-66, which is coincidentally being sold online. Keith W. Finnerty It burnt for about 12 hours and extinguished by itself at about 3:00a.m in the second morning. Assuming an average wind turbine costs $1 million per megawatt of generating capacity, offshore wind turbines ranging from 3 to 10 MW can . Bats are critical for farmers, but 600,000 died at wind farms last year. Is it getting better or worse ? Scotland It'd be like, at least he went down fighting, y'know? 'Carpetbagger' Mondaire Jones uses Westchester footage in Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, Murdaugh son collapsed outside court after sitting stone-faced through dad's 6-week murder trial: source, Tom Sandoval breaks silence on Ariana Madix split amid cheating claims, Kelly Osbourne posts first photo of baby son as he hangs out with uncle Jack, Greys Anatomy alum Isaiah Washington retiring from acting: The haters have won, Max Scherzer's first look at the new pitch clock, Chris Rock Jokes About Watching Emancipation to See Will Smith Getting Whipped In Advance of Netflix Special: Report, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce. Vr, Jordan British Columbia It is a simple and efficient device that can be installed in almost any location. Morocco New Brunswick The service will . Missouri A wind turbine is a device used to convert the wind into electrical power. But the idea behind it is so scary. The Mendota and Troy Grove fire departments were dispatched to a wind turbine fire north of Mendota. Submitted by hiker gal on Thu, 10/31/2013 - 08:43. Honduras http://www.nieuws.nl/algemeen/20131030/Brand-windmolen-Verlies-collegas-hartverscheurend. http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/10644. The turbine was a 1.75 megawatt Vestas V-66. Malta This is what we install for over a decade in onshore and offshore wind turbines. Also in 2012; a similar arc fire occurred in a Vestas V-90 turbine in Spain during maintenance; in addition a Vestas turbine collapsed in Ireland. dropdown.onchange = onCatChange; These are mechanically rotating with power producing package there has to be fire extinguishing system we can provide the package as well as monitoring system that the FFA is intact and good for all times. Spain CHINA: Huaneng Renewables has revealed one of its wind turbines caught fire in a wind farm in Inner Mongolia, killing two engineers. When factoring in the average frequency of one to two fire incidents over the course of a wind farms lifetime, the benefit of full protection of all ignition points outweighs the cost of installation. If the fire is left to burn, the whole turbine can be damaged beyond repair in a matter of hours. Not only that: in 2012, there was also a Vestas turbine that collapsed in Ireland. 423 69 69 comments Add a Comment Breedam 4 yr. ago This was a real tragic story. Japan CHINA: Huaneng Renewables has revealed one of its wind turbines caught fire in a wind farm in Inner Mongolia, killing two engineers. The researchers also outline the main causes of fire ignition in wind turbines in the study. Video from the scene showed what . Wind turbines are used to convert wind energy into electricity. Once a fire breaks out, this tubing ruptures and a suppression agent is released automatically through the tubing or via nozzles nearest the point where the most heat is detected, extinguishing the fire precisely where it starts and before it can take hold. Tower collapses have killed dozens of people in recent years, most notably in the Netherlands, Spain, and Denmark. England France Delaware The first stage of the Second Zhurihe Wind Farm has 300MW installed capacity. East County Magazine |
However, in order to continue to grow and thrive throughout this crisis, owners and operators cannot afford to be complacent around fire risk. Wind turbines can also damage property and interfere with aircraft. Connecticut The wind turbine nacelle was burnt away, and the three blades were damaged to varying degrees. Gamesa, a Spanish manufacturing company principally involved in the fabrication of wind turbines and the construction of wind farms, was also involved in severe wind accidents. Belgium South Africa Egypt The technology is packed in a one meter-diameter cone. Yet these remote communites lack specialized firefighting forces such as the team used to ultimately quell the Netherlands wind turbine fire and in on many days lately, have no fire station open at all, fueling growing safety concerns among residents. 163 intheharbour 4 yr. ago The most common types of wind turbines are the horizontal axis wind turbine and the vertical axis wind turbine. The two men, only 19 and 21, were burnt on top of a wind turbine in Deltawinds Piet de Wit wind farm in the Netherlands. 4 easy ways to get started. If its any consolation, two other mechanics on duty were able to survive the wrath of such an accident. Myanmar ECM has previously reported on these issues and other turbine safety concerns in an April 4, 2012 report, The Dark Side of Green.. Is putting hundreds of lightning rods up across fire-prone East County, where some storms have caused over a thousand lightning strikes in a single weekend, really a good idea? Video shows the wind turbine on fire while a large plume of black smoke fills the sky in Hull, England. Uruguay Wind turbine accident that shaped the renewable industry. Illinois That includes the 2009 fire in Iberdrolas Locust Ridge project, the 2012 fires in Iberdrolas Barton 2 Wind Power Project in Iowa, and the North Allegheny Ridge. Luxembourg Rotors use blades that are turned by an electric motor and are more efficient than horizontal-axis turbines because they can operate in stronger winds. performed repairs on wind turbines, windmills [4 Cal.App.4th 1570] used to generate electricity. Oregon Link: https://youtu.be/XNQ9hnJMiY8Can SpaceX rockets really land from the space? Taiwan Select Brazil Huaneng Tongliao Wind Power Company, which runs the Second Zhurihe Wind Farm, said the incident is under investigation. Wales LOCATIONS All the training I have done is geared towards this kind of thing; a constant rate descender is in the nacelle of all turbines with a hatch that allows you to jump out of the hatch and the CRD will slow your fall to around 2m/s. Besides that, they destroy the reason why we enjoy those places in the first place. Videos from witnesses and firefighters showed the wind turbine generator ablaze and disintegrate in the sky over Crowell, Texas. A witness reported seeing two men jump through flames into a staircase. The tragedy in Ooltgensplaat has lead to a political inquiry ('kamervragen' in dutch) into safety precautions for wind turbine maintenance crews. At about 16:00 of 7 February, the wind farm, undergoing an overhaul when one of the turbines caught fire. Yang Kun, the chief engineer of State Electricity Regulatory Commission, recently said that since 2010, there has been a rise in the number of accidents with Chinese wind turbines. Ontario Wind turbines catch fire because highly flammable materials such as hydraulic oil and plastics are in close proximity to machinery and electrical wires. Both Gamesa and Vestas have warned of problems in older models installed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ford County's collapsed wind turbine puts more eyes on a new state law February 23, 2023 Illinois. Sweden Indonesian rescue team carry a victim of fire at a neighborhood in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, March 3, 2023. The wind industry has long claimed that wind turbine fires are rare. New Hampshire It was the third conviction of a major wind company for killing eagles in a decade. First responders arrived at the Traverse Wind Energy Center around 4:30 p.m. to find one of the turbines on fire. The photos were taken from an inland freighter. Moreover, Boulevards fire station has been closed most days over the past three months. Haven't watched it yet. Austria Turbine fires can have costs beyond the wind farm. These can ignite a fire if they overheat or are faulty. The mechanical braking system can generate a huge amount of friction and heat, sometimes resulting in a fire. On May 22, 2012, a Gamesa turbine caught fire at Iberdrolas Barton 2 Wind Power Project in Iowa, North American Windpower reported. The tragedy occurred at Deltawinds Piet de Wit wind farm in the Netherlands, but highlights the hazards associated with fires caused by wind turbines. Israel Mark Ostrander, a retired Cal Fire battalion chief, testified to San Diegos Planning Commission that wind turbines in McCain Valley, along with Sunrise Powerlink, will hamper aerial firefighting. He warned, If we have a fire start in a wind area, were going to have to wait until it comes out, for the safety of the firefighters..