COBB COUNTY, Ga. — For the second time in a week, fire crews had to respond to a fire at a Georgia Power plant in Cobb County. It happened as contractors were doing work to remove damage from a previous incident, according to officials.
A spokesperson from Georgia Power told 11Alive that the crews were working at the McDonough Power Plant Friday afternoon to dismantle the transformer damaged in a Sunday fire when residual oil apparently ignited, sparking another small fire.
Crews from the Cobb County fire department responded around 4:25 p.m. to the plant and were able to quickly get it under control. No injuries were caused.
It's the second time a fire has been reported at the plant this week, with the first calls coming in around 11:30 p.m. Sunday of reported explosions and fire that came from a blown transformer in the switchyard at Plant McDonough.
The resulting fire and cleanup also lead to oil spilling into the river, according to the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, although the exact amount is being disputed.
Power transformers often have oil present for internal cooling and insulation purposes. A Cobb County Fire spokesman confirmed the oil present in the transformer was released and caught fire in Sunday's explosion and washed into the river through the firefighting efforts. Georgia Power said "most of the oil in the transformer was contained onsite."
In Friday's incident, however, fire officials said crews extinguished the flames quickly with minimal water and foam used. As a result, the department said there does not appear to be any threat of further contamination to the river, though it said it would be monitoring the situation.
