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Sodium leak fire
Published Date: 15 Jun 2015
Summary
Just before 10am on Saturday, 13 June, Fire & Rescue NSW (FRNSW) and NSW Rural Fire Service firefighters were called to reports of a fire caused by a sodium leak from a 120,000 litre storage tank at a solar thermal plant at Jemalong, near Forbes.
Just before 10am on Saturday, 13 June, Fire & Rescue NSW (FRNSW) and NSW Rural Fire Service firefighters were called to reports of a fire caused by a sodium leak from a 120,000 litre storage tank at a solar thermal plant at Jemalong, near Forbes.
Firefighters quickly responded to the fire and, shortly after they arrived they set up a 800m exclusion zone.
Due to the material, firefighters have had to apply soda ash rather than water to bring the fire under control.
Several tonnes of soda ash has been trucked into the area from as far as Dubbo and the ACT.
Firefighters remained on scene on Sunday and again on Monday working to gain the upper hand.
The fire under control, but small pockets continued to burn. Crews also worked with the EPA, which canvassed local farms and conducting testing in the surrounding area.
