Korean Nuclear Plant Fire Goes Undetected for an Hour

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plant fire protectionA fire started at the Korean nuclear plant, Kori Nuclear Power Plant.  However, for over an hour, employees were unaware of it.

The fire started in unit 4.  It started from a waste dryer overheating and starting a fire while gloves were drying.  The fire ignited at 4:26pm, but wasn't detected until 5:38pm.  It was detected when an employee spotted smoke.  The fire was extinguished within 14 minutes.

The plant spokesperson said, "One of the two smoke detectors is designed to be mute, and the other one sounded an alarm but the employees could not hear it."  The mute alarm is displayed in the main control center, but no one noticed it.

Just this past summer, plant employees were trained on catching fires early, and fighting them with extinguishers and fire hydrants.  The plant finds it troubling that the fire was able to smolder for over an hour without being noticed.