MORRIS, Ill. — Dresden Generation Station operators extinguished a small fire on a pump this morning. The fire lasted three minutes, was contained to the pump and did not affect the safe operation of the plant. Both reactors remain at full power.
Operators promptly identified and extinguished the fire and no offsite assistance was necessary. An “Alert” was declared and later terminated as required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. An Alert is the second lowest of four emergency classifications established by the NRC. It was declared at 10:50 a.m. and terminated at 1:19 p.m.
Dresden Generating Station is approximately 60 miles southwest of Chicago. The station’s two operating units can produce more than 1,800 megawatts, enough electricity to power nearly 2 million average homes. Dresden Unit 1, which began commercial operation in 1960 and was retired in 1978, has been designated a Nuclear Historic Landmark by the American Nuclear Society.
