Fire out at Dominion power plant in Chesapeake

CHESAPEAKE

Firefighters battled a blaze Tuesday at the Dominion Virginia Power plant on the Elizabeth River.

Chesapeake firefighters found a three-story condenser on fire inside the plant at 2701 Vepco St. and were told titanium tubing inside the condenser was on fire, Fire Capt. Scott Saunders said.

They called for a second alarm at 2:44 p.m. because they had to climb three stories to attack the fire from above and because of the material that was burning, he said.

"It's burning metal. It doesn't go out like paper," Saunders said. "You’ve got to put a lot of water and have a lot of hose and a lot of people to do it."

Firefighters had the blaze under control in about three hours, according to a news release from the fire department. The fire likely was caused by cutting torches being used in that area, according to the news release.

Dominion had been shutting down the facility, which sits on the west bank of the Elizabeth River near St. Juliens Creek.

Sign up for email newsletters